The Reclaimers from Remnant
by TehArbitur53
Summary: After a mission gone haywire, Team RWBY and JNPR find themselves on a strange ring, in an unknown world. And in the middle of a war, which will decide over the fate of humanity, while a new danger begins to grow in the shadows. (Rated M for language, violence and Flood.)
1. An unusual day

Chapter 1: 

An unusual day

"Ursa!" Yang yelled as she punched a Beowolf into oblivion. She, her Team and Team JNPR, were currently on a mission in the Emerald Forest, where they were tasked to take out a nest of King Taijitu. The nest was discovered after a recent mudslide.

The approaching Ursa attacked Blake, who jumped out of the way and stabbed the bear through the head with her Gambol Shroud.

Nora killed the last Grimm with Magnhild, her Hammer, and joined her friends.

"Anyone knows where this nest is?" Weiss asked.

Jaune, the leader of Team JNPR, opened his Scroll and looked at the map. He then pointed west. "Somewhere in that direction."

They followed him through the Emerald Forest, and eventually landed in front of a cave. "You sure that's it?" Pyrrha asked. "I don't think I have to remind you what happened the last time we were in this situation."

"Yeah, the map points to this place." Jaune replied, still looking at his scroll.

"King Taijitus need sunlight though. Why would they nest inside a cave?" Ren pointed out.

"Maybe they are cave-grimm!" Ruby suggested, and looked around the walls. She used a little flashlight on her Scroll to lighten the way.

"Or your map is broken." Weiss added.

Jaune laughed. "No way. I just updated it."

Ruby stopped, and looked inside a side tunnel. The wall were strangely glistering. "Uhm, guys?"

"What is it?" Blake asked and turned around.

"Huh. Weird. Maybe the Grimm are in there." Yang suggested.

They stepped inside the chamber, and looked around. It all seemed weirdly advanced, far more than anything they'd ever seen. There wasn't even anything in there, except for some sort of console. Ruby approached it, as if she was hypnotised. With one touch, a symbol appeared above it.

It looked like a ball on a stick, with half an arch around it, coming out of the bottom of the 'stick'.

"Whoa." Ruby said, and touched the console again. This time, everything went white, as if a flashbang grenade went off.

* * *

Luckily, it didn't take long until they could see again. To their surprise, they were in a completely different place. In a giant hallway, to be precise. It looked just like the chamber, with grey walls, decorated by glowing, blue highlights. However, it was far higher, and bigger. There was no more console, and they were standing at a wall. Behind them, the symbol was glowing for a second, before it faded away.

"Where are we?" Ruby asked herself, rubbing her head. Her Teammates and JNPR woke up too. All of them were similiar confused.

"Is this… A temple?" Weiss wondered, and looked at the ceiling in awe.

"No. Looks to modern. Maybe a secret laboratory." Blake suggested. "Possibly Atlas."

"Possible." Jaune nodded.

"Well, just one way to find out. HELLO? IS THERE ANYONE?" Nora began to yell, before Ren held his hand in front of her mouth.

He took his hand away. "Nora. We don't kn-"

"Stop." Blake whispered, interrupting Ren. "I've heard something. It's coming closer."

All of them prepared themselves for a potential fight. They heard the sound of a car coming closer, and as soon as the car came around the corner, they all looked at it in awe. The teams suspected a forklift, or maybe an atlas vehicle. Instead, they saw a jeep, equipped with a giant machine gun.

It drove past them, but stopped shortly after and moved backwards, until it stopped in front of them. Even more impressive than the car was the driver. He wore a green armor, straight out of a science fiction movie. His face was hidden behind a golden visor. And he was gigantic. Even taller than Yatsuhashi, the tallest student back at Beacon. He just stared at them, probably thinking about what to say.

Luckily, Ruby broke the silence, and smiled. "Uhm, hello."

"Chief. Say something." A female voice said. RWBY and JNPR looked around, searching for the source.

"And what am I supposed to say?" The giant replied.

The voice sighed. "This is UNSC-AI Cortana." Now they understood. The voice came from an AI. But where was that AI. In the car? And what was the UNSC?

The big guy climbed out of the vehicle and walked around it, before standing still in front of the two teams. He held a big, grey weapon in his hand. "I am Masterchief Petty Officer John Sierra-117."

There was a silence for a split second. "Hello, uhm, Chief. I am Ruby Rose. Leader of team RWBY!" Ruby said and extended her hands to show her team.

"Weiss. Weiss Schnee."

"Blake Belladonna."

"Yang Xiao Long."

"And we are Team JNPR." Jaune said. "I'm Jaune Arc."

"Pyrrha Nikos. Hello." Pyrrha waved.

"Li-"

"NORA!" Nora yelled and jumped in front of Ren.

"Like I tried to say, I am Lie Ren."

"What are you kids doing here?" Chief asked, still confused.

"Well, we were tasked to destroy a Grimm nest, then found a cave and ended up here." Jaune explained. "We have no idea what happened."

"Did the cave lead you here?" Cortana asked.

"Yes. It was, like, a bright flash of light." Blake explained.

"Sounds like Slipspace travel." Chief pointed out.

"Slip- what?" Nora asked, and gave the Chief an confused look.

"Cortana. What are we going to do?" The Chief seemed a bit overwhelmed with the situation. The teams guessed that he wasn't too social, considering his stoic appearence.

"We can't leave them here." Cortana replied. "We should take them with us."

"Okay." The giant walked back to the jeep.

"What? Where are we going?" Yang asked. She was starting to get angry.

"The Covenant shot down our Ship. We have to gather the survivors. And you'll be coming with me." John answered, leaving the kids with more questions than answers.

"Ship? Covenant?" Ruby asked.

"Follow me. And stay back." Chief said and jumped back into the car. "Does anyone of you know how to operate a machine gun?"

Ruby raised her hand, and for a moment, it looked like the Masterchief was surprised. "Good. Then you'll operate it. Pyrrha, you'll ride Shotgun."

"Uhm… Okay." Pyrrha climbed into the seat, and Ruby got to the machine gun. It looked rather easy. Just push the button, hold on it and point it at the enemy. But what were they fighting that they would need such heavy equipment? The Warthog's motor jumped to life, and the car started moving slowly. The rest of the kids walked next to the car, keeping up with it effortlessly.

* * *

Roughly five quiet minutes later, they found a big room. It was cut in two by a ravine in the middle. Metal pillars and walls provided cover on the sides, and a ramp led up to a ledge overlooking the ravine.

The weirdest thing, however, were the things walking around here. Some looked like birds, equipped with shields and guns. Others looked like apes, carrying orange tanks on their back.

The last kind of monster was tall, as tall as the Chief. They looked strong, and wore a blue combat armor. While the small creatures used small weapons, the big ones had two-handed, blue guns and rifles.

"What are those things?" Pyrrha asked, receiving a look from the Chief.

"That's the Covenant. Stay back." The Chief drove the Warthog into the direction of the Covies, and splattered one the birdthings. This alerted the other aliens, and they began to fire at the car.

Ruby swung around the machine gun and shredded one of the apes. The hail of bullets literally ripped the little guy apart, and the tank on its back exploded. Ruby felt kinda bad. Those things weren't Grimm, and she didn't even know what they wanted. The only thing she knew was that they're not human, or faunus. But they were shooting at them, and that made them an enemy.

"RUBY!" Yang yelled and ran at the Covies, followed by JNR and WB.

"No! Stand ba-" Cortana yelled, but stopped when the six drew their weapons.

Pyrrha jumped out of the hog, and attacked one of the birdmonsters with her spear. She hit the energy shield of the alien, and it aimed his pistol at her. Pyrrha jumped over the monster and transformed her Spear into a rifle, only to notice that no shots came out. She shrugged it off for now and jumped on the things back, and rammed her shield against the back of it's head. The alien collapsed, and Pyrrha shifted her attention to another alien.

Meanwhile, Yang got into a fist fight with one of the big aliens. It was a formidable opponent, but as it accidently cut through her hair, Yang got angry and uppercutted. A small spark wandered across the monster's body, as if it's Aura broke, and the head was cut off from the body, flying through the air, and landing inside the ravine.

* * *

Chief stared speechless at the teens, who slaughtered the Covies without any big problems. Their Weapons were just as impressive, all of them transformed into a gun. Except Weiss' rapier and Jaune's sword. And there was something else. Yang's hair was literally on fire, while Blake left behind clones of herself that took the hits.

"Chief! Snap out of it!" Cortana yelled. John looked around, and noticed a lot of dead Covies around the hog.

Ruby was yelling something undecipherable as she shredded another grunt with the gun. Chief took the wheel, and turned the car around, only to splatter an Elite. The gunfire stopped, and he saw that all the aliens were dead.

"Explanations. Now." Yang said as she approached the Warthog. Most of her body was covered in purple and blue blood. And man, she looked pissed.

"Actually, I think you kids owe us one first." Cortana said.

"Why? We aren't the sci-fi people fighting aliens." Ruby pointed out and jumped of the machine gun. Her hands were still shaky from using the gun.

"No, but you are the ones using magic." The Chief replied.

"That's not magic." Weiss explained. "That's Aura. Never heard of it?"

"No. We haven't. Where are you from exactly?" Cortana asked.

"Remnant." Jaune replied shortly, and sheathed his sword.

"Okay… Looking through my databanks. Nope. No result." The AI said.

The kids looked at each other worried. Where did they land?

Finally, the Chief broke the uncomfortable silence. "Where is Remnant?"

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"Your Star. What's it called?"

"Sun." Yang replied.

"Chief. I think our guests might be from another world. Or universe."

"What?" John and the huntsmen/ huntresses asked.

"They said that they experienced some kind of slipspace travel. And it has long been theorized that an slipspace jump gone wrong could result in switching between realities. There have been multiple occasions where engineers or other crewman disappeared during a slipspace jump." The AI explained.

"So, you're saying that something in that chamber sent us across dimensions?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'd say it's possible."

Everyone stared at Ruby with anger.

"Hey, don't look at me." She defended herself. "Buttons are there to be pressed. And don't say none of you would have interacted with it."

"Can it." The Masterchief interrupted her with a strict tone. "We aren't done. Now, what is this Aura."

"Basically the manifestation of our soul. It works like a forcefield." Jaune explained.

"And what were those things?" Blake asked and kicked one of the dead birds. It's mouth slid open, revealing sharp teeth.

"Covenant. Jackals to be exact. Or Kig-Yar in their language." Cortana explained. "The ones with the tanks are called Grunts, or Unggoy. And the big ones are the Elites, or Sangheili."

"And why the hell did they shoot at us?" Nora asked. The end of her hammer still had the tank of a grunt hanging off of it.

"For thirty years now, humanity has been at war with the Covenant. Those religious freaks are trying to wipe us out. And they are doing a pretty good job at it."

The facial expressions of the teams went from 'worried' to 'shit their pant' in a second. "So, these things are killing us?" Ruby yelled in panic. Suddenly, she didn't feel sorry anymore.

"Precisely. It has to do with their religion." The Chief replied.

Jaune put up a finger. "Okay… One second please."

"Of course. Chief, there must be some mechanism to cross this cavern. Look for a control panel or switch."

The Spartan nodded and began searching along the wall of the room. Meanwhile, RWBY and JNPR gathered in a circle to discuss the situation.

"Okay. What are we going to do?" Weiss asked.

"We have to find a way back." Nora answered.

"Or we have to fight." Ruby suggested. Everyone gave her a confused look.

"Rubes… Have you lost your marbles?" Yang asked.

"We have sworn to protect humanity." Ruby explained. "And in my opinion, that holds up across every dimension."

"Uhm, yeah. But those aren't Grimm. They are aliens." Weiss said.

"And we took 'em out pretty easily." Pyrrha pointed out, proud of herself and her friends.

"She's right." Ren said. "Right now, we have no way to get home. So we might as well help the people here."

"I'm with Ren. We can't just stay back and watch." Blake pointed out.

"I'm all for kicking some alien ass." Yang said and punched her fists together.

"Yeah. Let's kill some aliens." Nora yelled excited.

"Wow." Weiss sighed. "I suppose I have to help too then?"

"Yeah." Everyone said.

"Okay then." The heiress replied, and nodded.

They heard a sound behind them, and turned around. A bridge made out of light appeared over the ravine.

"Whoa…" Ruby said.

They saw Chief walking down a ramp, and towards them. "And. What do you say?"

"We wanna help you." Ruby replied. Behind her, everyone looked at the Chief with determination.

"I'm sorry, but you are kids." Cortana said. "That would definitely be against the law of the UNSC."

"And you've got fighting skills." Chief pointed out.

"Chief? Are you okay with that?"

"Right now, we can use everyone we can get. And those kids seem like they can pack a punch. And their magic may give us an advantage over the Covenant."

There was a pause, and it seemed like Cortana was thinking about her answer. "I'm gonna regret that. Alright. I'll order two more Warthogs as soon as we leave the cave."

Everyone nodded, and Ruby and Pyrrha jumped back into the Warthog. The others, again, walked next to the jeep. The lightbridge felt weird, and not really save. But it was the only way. The light was a bit tingly on the feet.

* * *

No one really knew what to say. At least until Cortana broke the silence. "New traffic on the Covenant battlenet… a lot more crew made it off the Autumn than I had predicted. The captain really gave them hell! If we can find Captain Keyes and other survivors, we have a chance to coordinate an effective resistance."

"Keyes?" Pyrrha asked.

"The captain of our ship. He's a tactical genius." Cortana explained.

They finally left the building, and the sun blinded everyone for a second. As soon as they were able to see again, they saw something even more breathtaking. There was a giant ring in the sky. Was that like a ring around the planet? Or were they actually on the ring? And who build it? There were many questions on their mind right now.

"What's that thing in the sky?" Nora asked.

"That's the ring we're on." Masterchief answered.

"So. We're on a giant ring. In space." Jaune asked. "Great."

"Yeah. We don't know why it's here, or what it is exactly. For now let's focus on saving those marines." They looked over the green canyon they were in. A stream of water ran through the middle of the valley. Coniferous trees grew here and there. Sometimes, blue beams of light were shot into the sky from somewhere behind the cliffs. It would have been really beautiful, if it wasn't for the gun- and plasma fire in the backround.

They ran through a ravine, which led them to a couple of big rocks and boulders. Marines had taken cover behind them, judging by the gunfire coming out of the rocks. Meanwhile, the Covenant, consisting of Grunts, Jackals and two Sangheili, tried to kill them. In the distance, near a cliff, the wreck of a bumblebee drop-pod was on the ground. Ammo, health packs and grenades laid in front of it.

"Survivors detected. Marines are concealed in those rocks."

"Okay, let's do our job!" Weiss yelled and they charged down the hill at the Covenant. John started the Warthog again and drove down, while Ruby took aim at the Covenant.

* * *

It was a normal day for Bailey. Well, as normal as it can be in a war against a genocidal, religious alien empire. Especially when one was on a giant ring floating in space. He, and his marines, got stuck near some rocks as the Covenant landed to finish them off. The aliens had pinned them down fast, and he ran on top of a rock, taking aim with his SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle. He was just about to put a nice, big hole into the skull of a Jackal, as it suddenly got hit by a giant hammer. The lifeless body flew across the valley, followed by one Grunt falling. Then the next one. The two Sangheili needed time to react to the surprise attack, but where mowed down by a Warthog, operated by the last person they expected to see today. And the turret was operated by… Little Red Riding Hood?

* * *

Thanks to the surprise on their side, Team RWBY, JNPR and the Chief were able to take out the Covies before they could even retaliate.

"I have to give it to you. You are effective." Cortana stated.

"Marines!" Chief shouted, and climbed out of the vehicle.

"I can't believe it. The Chief came to help us." One of the marines muttered while coming out of his hiding spot.

"And a bunch of anime-kiddos." Another, older marine added.

"This are Team RWBY and JNPR. They're here to help." Chief said, and turned around to the kids. "Search the pod for any survivors. If you need to, take some ammo and grenades."

The Teams nodded and ran to the pod. Ren crawled inside the relatively small pod and checked the bodies inside. He pressed two fingers on their wrists, and noticed that none of them had a pulse. "They are dead!" He yelled and crawled out. Nora handed him a small green pack, with a red strip on top of it. "What's that?"

"Ammo. I think the size should fit Stormflower." Ren took the pack, and loaded the rounds in his weapon. He tested it and shot against a wall. The rounds came out as smooth as ever.

Meanwhile, Blake picked up another pack of ammo. According to the description on the pack, it was roughly the same caliber she used in Gambol Shroud. She threw one pack to Pyrrha, who put the rounds in her own rifle. Ruby took a box with six sniper rounds, and put them inside Crescend Rose. They fit perfectly.

Sadly, there wasn't any time to test it out on the cliff.

"Contact! Covenant dropship, down there!" The sharpshooter shouted over the valley. The two teams looked to the sky, and saw a big, purple, tuning fork shaped ship approaching. Blue energy flew between its 'prongs'.

"Is that thing levitating?" Jaune gasped. Hoping that it might work better in this situation than his sword and shield, he grabbed one of the pistols from the ground and ran for the rocks. His friend did the same. And just in time. As soon as they were gone, purple plasma left the bottom cannon of the ship and scorched the earth where they just stood.

"Hold them off down here! I'll assist the sniper." Ruby yelled and ran off to the big rock. Instead of running to the top, she used her semblance and turned into rose pedals. She 'flew' up the rocks, and landed next to a Marine, who laid there with an open mouth. In his hand, he had a long-barelled rifle, which Ruby guessed was a sniper rifle.

"What the fuck."

Ruby ignored him, and activated the Scythe form of her weapon. She rammed the blade into the ground, and aimed at the dropship.

"Is that a sniper scythe?" The marine asked, scared, confused and amazed at the same time.

"Yep."

Through her scope, she saw the sides of the ship opening, and Grunts, Jackals and one red armored Elite jumped out. She aimed at the Elite's skull, only to see it blowing up into a purple cloud. She looked at the Sniper, who reloaded his sniper.

The huntress smiled, and aimed at a jackal. One press of the trigger later, the alien collapsed.

Ren poked his head out. There was roughly one meter, or around 3 feet, of space between him and the next rock. More than enough. He jumped out of his hiding place, and shot at two Grunts while in the air. One of the aliens fell over dead, but the other one jumped out of the way. This action was useless, however, as he got taken out by Pyrrha's rifle. Blake took aim at a Jackal and took it out with a swift headshot. Next to her sat Weiss, unsure what to do.

She lacked any real ranged possibilities right now, so she concentrated on keeping the Marines alive. A couple of purple needles flew towards them, and she created a glyph to keep the things away from the marines.

"I can't believe it. Magic." One of the marines muttered. Weiss let the glyph disappear as the needles were gone, and noticed the Chief walking up behind her. With deadly precision, he shot down the last two jackals.

"You should keep that thing up. It provides good cover." He said.

Weiss nodded, and catched a two-handed gun the Spartan picked up from the ground and threw to her. She looked at the rifle, and instantly knew how to use it. Afterall, it was just pointing at the alien and pull the trigger. A display even showed the rounds of the current magazine. There were twenty shots left. She only had to find out how one reloaded the thing

* * *

"Bailey! Are there any Covies left?" One of the Marines yelled up the rock.

"No! All xenos eliminated! Thanks to our new friends."

"Uhm, thanks?" Ruby said, blushing. "I'm Ruby by the way." She shook Bailey's hand. "Nice to see another sniper around."

"Bailey. Nice weapon. How the hell did you do that pedal thing?"

"It's my semblance."

Bailey looked at her in confusion.

"Bailey! Ruby! Come down here!" Yang yelled up.

Out of respect for the new arrivals, Bailey saluted. "Yes! Miss, uhm…"

"Xiao Long."

"Xiao Long!" He walked down the side of the rock, while Ruby jumped down.

 _"Echo 419 to Cortana, come in."_ A female voice came over the radio.

"We read you, Echo 419. We have survivors and need immediate dust-off." Cortana replied over the radio.

 _"Roger, Cortana. On my way. I've spotted additional lifeboats in your area. One near the cliff edge, and another near the head of the river. Hard to see from up here, but there may be more survivors."_

"Acknowledged. We're on our way."

A big, green and brown ship closed in from the sky. It had another warthog attached to its underside. The thrusters threw up dirt and dust as the ship came closer to the ground. It put down the car, and the marines jumped inside the ship. It took off again, leaving Team RWBY; JNPR and Chief behind.

"Okay. So, should we part ways?" Jaune asked.

Every head turned towards the blonde. "What?"

"Yeah. That way we could make sure that both lifeboats are save." Weiss added.

Chief looked at the crashed droppod, and walked up to it. He took the helmets from the dead marines, and handed two to each team. "Here. Put them on. That way we can stay in contact." Ruby, Jaune, Nora and Weiss took a helmet each, and put them on. They weren't comfortable, but better than nothing.

"So, we have two jeeps…" Ruby stated.

"Warthogs" Cortana corrected.

"Right. Warthogs. I'd say that Me, Blake, Weiss and Pyrrha go with the Chief."

"Alright. Me, Yang, Ren and Nora will go to the other crash site then." Jaune added. "Uhm… Can one of us drive?" He asked his team mates. Ren raised his hand and walked over to the warthog.

"Good luck, guys." Ruby said. They smiled and drove off, with Nora at the turret, Jaune riding Shotgun and Yang sitting next to Nora, holding the chassis with one hand.

Ruby and Pyrrha took their old seats, and Weiss sat down next to Ruby.

* * *

Chief's group was the first to arrive at their location. In the middle of the ravine was a building, which shot blue beams into the air. Behind it was a hill, leading up to the cliff. A group of Covenant soldiers shot up the hill, with occasional gunfire answering.

"There are some Marines, hiding in the hills above the structure." Cortana explained.

"Weiss? Can you give us a little boost?" Ruby asked. The heiress nodded, and jumped off.

"Wait, what do you mean with bo-" Chief wanted to ask, but was interrupted as Weiss created a huge glyph behind the warthog, and then shot it at the Covenant like a Slingshot.

* * *

"Hey, Gubap?" A Grunt asked another one.

"Yes Burpip?"

"Can warthogs fly?"

"Stop talking you two!" Their commanding Sangheili shouted. "Or I'll throw you off the ring. Cars can't fl-" He was cut off as a warthog, operated by the Masterchief, Ruby and Pyrrha, hit him, and ripped his upper body off. It bounced off the ground once, then twice, and made it's way up the hill, where it stopped as it hit a tree.

"Told you." One of the grunts deadpanned.

* * *

The Chief climbed out of the wreck, holding his head. He had done a lot of things impossible to the normal human being, but that was something he'd never try to do again.

"Sorry. We're kinda used to it. It's one of our strategies back home." Ruby explained smiling. They looked around, and saw that the four marines stared at them in disbelief, just as the Covenant did.

Behind the aliens, Blake snuck up to them and silently killed one of the grunts by slitting it's throat, then a jackal. The alien managed to fire it's plasma pistol though, and alerted the other forces. They turned around, and shot at Blake. She tried to dodge, put one bolt of plasma hit her thigh. She fell over. Even though her Aura nearly annihilated the damage, the pain was still there. Additionaly, she felt that the hit took away a lot of her Aura.

Before the Covenant could finish her off, Chief, Ruby, Pyrrha and the Marines shot them in the back. The grunts and jackals fell instantly, but the elite still stood. Eventually, his shield broke, and he was finished by a sniper round from Ruby.

Weiss finally catched up with them, and helped Blake back up.

"You're a sight for sore eyes, Chief. We're in a bad way. We've got wounded here." One of the marines said, before looking at the hunresses. "What's with the kids?"

"Not now. We have to get everyone somewhere safe first." Cortana replied. "I'll call in a dropship to pick us up."

"Uhm… I don't wanna ruin the moment, but there are more baddies!" Ruby yelled and pointed at the purple dropship that came closer.

"Oh shit." One of the Marines said.

Ruby looked around, and used her semblance to jump on top of a rock. She rammed the blade of Crescend Rose into the stone, and aimed at the ship. As soon as the doors would open, there would be at least one dead Sangheili. She noticed that the rounds they used were the same size as the standard dust ammunition, but had a lot more punch.

Pyrrha, Weiss and Blake got ready for the fight too. Blake could stand again, but wasn't really able to move fast just yet. Weiss, again, provided extra cover with a glyph.

The Covenant charged around the alien structure, and ran towards the hill. Plasma hit the rocks and dirt around the UNSC soldiers, and left black scorch marks. One of the wlites fell over with a new hole in his head, causing the grunts to run around panicking. The jackals, however, kept their cool and continued shooting with one hand while taking cover behind their shields. Luckily, the Chief already had a solution for that. He pulled out a green ball, and pulled the pin out. He waited a moment and threw the grenade at the jackals, which exploded in a bright fireball. The Marines and Pyrrha took care of the remaining grunts, which were still panicking.

 _"Echo 419 to Cortana. Foehammer's on station and ready for another pickup."_

"Affirmative, Foehammer. We're ready for dust off, approach when ready."

 _"What about the other lifeboat?"_ Foehammer asked.

"Our new friends are taking care of that. They should be calling you as soon as it is clear." Cortana answered.

The pelican came closer to the ground, and opened it's bay. The surviving Marines jumped in, together with the Masterchief and the huntresses. The door closed again, and they could feel the force as it took off. To their surprise, it wasn't too different from a Bullhead.

"Warning!" Cortana said over the radio. "I've picked up reports that the Covenant have located and secured the Pillar of Autumn's crash site. The good news is the Captain's still alive. The bad news is that the Covenant has captured the entire surviving command crew."

"Then let's save him." Ruby suggested.

"We'll do that later." Foehammer answered from the front of the pelican. "First, we have to make contact with Alpha Base."

"Alpha Base?" Blake asked. She took a medikit from the side of the wall and tried treating the pain the plasma left on her leg. It helped to ease the pain, but Blake wanted someone to look into it. It seemed like the Plasma still did some damage to her. Maybe the heat of it burned something inside of her leg, and effect which wasn't unheard off.

"Yeah. Major Silva and Lieutnant McKay managed to capture a alien structure from the Covies, and want to use it as a base of operation." Foehammer explained.

Pyrrha sighed. "I hope Jaune's okay."

* * *

Meanwhile, Jaune, Ren, Nora and Yang were driving through the valley. Without any maps or markers, they had no idea where to go. And it was slowly getting boring to search around the rather big area.

"Ren? Can you turn on the radio?" Nora asked.

Ren nodded, pushed a button on the control field of the Warthog, and activated the radio. Instantly, loud, mexican music came out of the speakers.

"Okay. Why does the military have this kind of music in their jeeps?" Jaune asked irritated.

"Well, we are on a ring in space. I'd guess the reception is bad out here." Yang said.

"Actually, that raises even more questions." Jauen replied.

Yang shrugged, and pointed at a piece of grey metal near the river. "I think that's the lifeboat."

Ren accelerated, and approached the boat. It was empty, with blood leading into a nearby ravine.

"I think they walked over there." Nora said, and pointed at the ravine.

"Okay. Ren, let's go."

They drove into the ravine, and found themselves at a cliffside overlooking a vast ocean, or lake. It wasn't really clear to them, seeing as they were on a ring.

Nora looked down at the alien structures that stood here, and only saw some lonely grunts. Then, they heard gunfire, and bullets coming out of a opening. Ren drove down the hill and splattered one grunt. Nora shot the turret at the other two grunts, which died nearly instantly.

"Great. You two, hold them off here. Yang and I will go down there." Jaune commanded, and jumped out of the vehicle, followed by Yang. Ren parked the Warthog at the wall of the structure, so that the Covenant would have to come from one side. He took cover behind the car.

Yang and Jaune ran down into the structure, and saw three jackals shooting at a couple marines and crewmen, which set up defense behind a light-bridge spanning over a pit. Jaune charged forward and rammed his shield into the back of the head of one jackal. The other two turned around, only for one to meet a fist. It's body went limb instantly, and fell against a wall. The other one looked around in panic, not sure what to do. Behind him were the Marines, and in front of him two battle-ready teens. Before he could decide, a hail of bullets dug into his back.

"Who are you?" One of the Marines asked, and reloaded his rifle.

"I'm Yang, and this is Jaune. We're here to save you." The blonde replied.

"Uhm, don't you want a gun?" One of the crewmen asked.

"Nope. We're good." Yang said and smirked.

Jaune activated the radio of his helmet. The long search for the lifeboat at least left him enough time to figure out how the things worked. "Nora? How is it out there?"

 _"All aliens eliminated._ " Nora said through the radio.

"Alright. Can you call, uhm, what was her name?"

 _"Hoehammer?"_ Nora yelled into the radio.

"Yeah. Hoehammer."

There was a brief silence as Nora called her. Behind the two, the marines had to hold in a giggle, just like Yang. _"She's coming. Also, don't call her Hoehammer. It's Foehammer. She was very clear about that."_

Jaune nodded and shut off the radio. "Alright. Ship's on the way. Let's get out of here."

"Roger that. Marines! Assemble for evac, pronto!"

They headed back to the surface where the pelican already waited. They jumped into the ship, and flew away. On the way to Alpha Base, Cortana sent a message over the radios. _"New traffic on the Covenant battlenet. I've found Captain Keyes! He's being held on a Covenant cruiser, the Truth and Reconciliation, a ship I disabled before we abandoned the Autumn. The Truth and Reconciliation touched down on a deserve plateau roughly three hundred kilometers up-spin."_

"Alright then." Foehammer said. "There are some people that would like to meet you."

Yang, Jaune, Ren and Nora exchanged looks. "Us?"

"Yeah. Something like you is not something we see everyday."

The four fighters leaned back in their seats, and took a deep breath. What have they gotten themselves into?

* * *

 **And my third story. I thought about writing this when looking through the crossover fanfictions of Halo and RWBY, and noticed that, of the stories that involved Team RWBY arriving in the Halo Universe, mostly played on Reach. That stories taking place on Halo are rare is actually quite ironic. So I thought that it might be a good little side project, and started writing.**

 **About the schedule: There is none. While my first, and mainstory, has a schedule, and the other RWBY Story I'm writing has somewhat of one (meaning at least one chapter every two weeks), this one won't have a schedule at all, but I hope to release at least one chapter per month. It's simply that those two have priority above this one. Still, the first three Chapters will be coming out closer to each other, since I already have them made for the most part. (I like to write three or four chapters before doing anything like publishing the Story, so that I can get somewhat of a flow for the Story.)  
**

 **Now about the Story itself: The plan is to do one game-mission per chapter, with some other stuff like briefings in between. Team RWBY and JNPR will basically go through Halo: CE; Halo 2; Halo 3; Halo 3:ODST and Halo 4. I have mostly planned out who will take part in which mission, or battle. The reason why I didn't include Halo 5 there, was due to the fact that I'm not sure how the Cortana thing will play out at the end of Halo 4. (Fact: Unlike most people, I don't hate Halo 5's campaign. Sure, the story wasn't too good, but I loved the level design.)  
**

 **And in case anyone wonders, yes, I've read all of the Halo books released up to this point, so I'm quite familiar with the Expanded Universe. If there was something incorrect, please point it out.  
**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	2. Getting acquainted

Chapter 2: Getting acquainted

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **Alpha Base**  
 **September 19; 2552**

Jaune was awkwardly looking around in the Pelican as it approached Alpha Base. He felt as if the whole mess was his fault. He was the one who led them into the cave, after all. The fact that all the Marines they saved stared at them wasn't helping. Then again, they just saved their lives. If the situation was as problematic as it sounded, maybe he and his friends could make a difference. After all, they basically slaughtered the Covenant they fought today.

He felt the landing, and the bay opened, revealing an obligatory landing zone. It was in a mesa, and Jaune could see a number of alien structures along the walls, just like the ones the Marines hid in. According to Foehammer, there were also deep cave systems here, making it a good base of operation. Among the busy soldiers, and supply crates, were a couple of still burning, purple wrecks. If the Spirits they saw were anything to go by, the wrecks where the remains of Covenant vehicles.

On the landing zone, his friends were already waiting for them. The four jumped out of the Pelican, followed by the Marines, who instantly went to work inside the base.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled, and hugged her sister. "And? Did it go well?"

"Yeah. Nothing big. A couple of Grunts and three Jackals. And how was your little trip?"

"Weiss nearly killed Chief." Ruby said, and a lot of heads turned toward the heiress.

"Ruby just worded it poorly." She tried to defend herself.

"Ladies and Gentleman!" A male voice was heard from the Base itself. They saw a Marine approaching them. He had a cigar in his mouth, and a dark skin tone. "Welcome at Alpha Base. Our trusty home sweet home." He said and took the cigar out of his mouth. "You must be these 'Superheroes' the Marines were talking about."

Half of the teens blushed from the compliment. They had only saved some Marines from a couple of aliens, and were already held high. Blake guessed from the sentence that the moral of the troops must be pretty low.

"Hello. Nice to be here. I think." Ruby said.

The Marine shook Ruby's hand. I'm Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson. I'm leading the Marines here, and I must say that you kids came in the best possible moment." He gestured to a door. "Come in. Major Silva and Lieutnant McKay want to have a word with you."

The eight nodded and followed Avery inside the Base. There were a couple of Marines standing here and there, most of which were working on securing supplies.

Eventually, they walked past a group of four soldiers, all wearing black, heavy-looking combat suits. Even their faces would be covered by helmets, if it wasn't for the transparent visor.

"What's with the black guys?" Nora asked, causing everyone to facepalm, and her to receive some weirded out looks.

Luckily, it seemed like Johnson didn't care. "They are ODSTs. Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. Whenever something needs to get done, they are dropped in from orbit to clear out the area, capture some building or whatever they need to do. They are the ones that took this Base from the Covies."

"So… They are, like, elite troops or somethin'?" Yang asked. As they walked past the ODSTs, they looked after the kids. It felt like they were some sort of rare species. For Blake, that was the truth.

"Yeah. Best of the best. "hen Spartans aren't available." They stopped at a door. "Little warning: Don't mention the Chief too much around Major Silva. He isn't too fond of Spartans."

"Uhm, okay. We'll remember that." Pyrrha said.

The man guarding the door nodded, and let them in. The room was brightly lit, thanks to the blue lights in the wall and ceiling. A woman stood in the corner and tapped around on some kind of pad. She looked up, and put the pad on a makeshift table next to her. "Lieutnant McKay." She shook everyone's hand.

"And I'm Major Antonio Silva." The man, sitting on a crate, introduced himself. "I lead the ODST here. I've heard a lot about you. Appearently you are as good as one of those damn Spartans." It wasn't hard to guess that he was part of the ODSTs, considering that he was wearing their armor.

Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "I wouldn't go that far."

"Okay. I need your names, please." McKay wanted to know, and took her pad again.

Everyone introduced themselves, and McKay put the information into a databank. While she was tipping, Johnson leaned against a wall.

"Done. You are now officialy registered." The woman looked at the kids. "Cortana said you came here from another dimension?"

Blake shrugged. "Yeah. Seems like it."

"And where you come from, people have magic?" Johnson asked.

"It's not magic." Pyrrha explained. "Aura is a manifestation of our soul. We can use it in battle, as some sort of armor. It absorbs hits, and heals small wounds. When trained right, it can be used in other ways as well. However, once it's depleted, we are just as vulnerable as anyone else."

Once again, McKay wrote the information down on her pad. "And what the Marines told us? What's the deal with the rose pedals? And the glyphs?"

"Oh, that's semblance." Jaune said. "Everyone has a special power within."

"Yeah. I can turn into rose pedals, and run super fast." Ruby pointed out, proud of herself.

"Okay then." Silva spoke up. "Please tell us your Semblance. We don't want any surprises on the battlefield."

"Alright. I can use different glyphs, and summon. But the latter still needs a lot of work." Weiss explained, and felt a bit disappointed about the latter. She wanted to be able to use it, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get it done.

"What do you mean with summon?" Silva asked Weiss.

"I can summon fallen foes to fight on my side. It is very hard to do though, and requires a lot of work."

"I can leave shadow clones behind, so that I can get away, or confuse enemies." Blake explained.

"Shadow Clones, huh?" McKay muttered. "ONI would probably like to take a look at you."

Blake looked around confused. What the hell was ONI?

"I can absorb hits and get stronger." Yang told them. "And if someone cuts my hair, he'll die." The last sentence was in such a serious tone, that it looked like it actually made the soldiers uncomfortable.

"Yeah. But her ability also activates when she's angry." Ruby added. "Or what we like to call it: Yangry."

"So, it is like a temper tantrum?" Johnson commented and pulled out a new cigar from somewhere. No one was really sure where he got it from.

"Exactly. Although, I don't like calling it that."

Silva turned towards the other four. "And JNPR? What's your power?"

"Oh, I don't know my semblance yet." Jaune said, slightly embarassed.

"Don't worry Jaune. You'll find out eventually." Pyrrha comforted him, and put a hand on his shoulder. "By the way, I have control over polarity."

"I can channel and produce electricity into my muscles." Nora explained, and nodded to an portable generator standing in the corner. "Want me to demonstrate?"

The three soldiers looked at each other. "Maybe later."

"I can conceal emotions." Ren added shortly.

"Is there any way we could use Semblances too?" Silva asked intrigued.

"Possibly. Let me try." Pyrrha said and stepped in front of Johnson. She put one hand on his chest, and closed her eyes. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee." Pyrrha stepped back, and looked at Johnson shocked.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Y- You have no soul."

Everyone looked at Johnson. "Is that an insult?"

"No. It's just…. Everyone has a soul. Humans, Faunus, animals." Pyrrha said.

"Maybe it is only like that in your world." McKay suggested. "If it really is another dimension, it's entirely possible that some physical rules are different there."

"It's possible, I suppose. Afterall, the fuel we use at home only works in the atmosphere." Weiss explained. Pyrrha now realized why Milò didn't work earlier.

"And what is this Dust?" McKay asked.

"Basically crystals, which come in different forms, with different effects. Fire, Wind, Electricity, and much more." Ruby said.

"That's unfortunate." Silva muttered. "Something like that could have turned the tides."

"I don't know. If we can get it to ONI, or the UNSC, maybe they can figure out a way to make it work."

The ODST nodded.

"So, you mentioned something called 'Faunus'" McKay pointed out. "What are they?"

"Right. Blake?" Yang said, and looked at her partner. Blake's eyes widened. She knew what Yang wanted. "Come on, Blakey. You don't have to be ashamed. They won't see you as someone else. Hell, they don't even know what a Faunus is."

Blake sighed. She knew that Yang was right. Even if she would keep it a secret for now, they would find out eventually. Thus, she slowly reached to her bow, and took it off. They saw the jaw of the three commanders dropping.

"Holy Shit." Johnson said.

"So, Faunus are cat people?" McKay asked, still in disbelief.

"Some are." Blake explained, and reattached the bow. "In general, Faunus are humans with animal features. But only one at a time. Cat ears, monkey tails, bull horns, claws, scales. Stuff like that." Blake stopped for a moment, to think about things she might forgot to mention. Sure, there was the whole deal with the White Fang, but she didn't want to mention her past as a terrorist to a couple of soldiers. "And night vision. That might be useful."

"Night vision?" McKay muttered and pressed something on her pad.

"That's… interesting." Silva muttered.

"And how did you learn to fight like that?" McKay wanted to know.

"In a combat school, and later huntsmen academies." Yang explained.

"Or in the wild." Nora added.

"But why? You are just seventeen-" Silva said, but was interrupted by Ruby.

"Actually, I'm only fifteen."

He scoffed. "Even worse."

"Well, our home world is overrun by monsters called the Creatures of Grimm." Jaune said.

"Grimm?" Johnson asked. "Can't be worse than the Covenant."

"Well, they don't have Spaceship. Or guns." Ruby pointed out. "So, yeah, not as bad."

"And what are they?" Silva asked, slowly getting bored of the conversation, now that the tactical applications of the teens were discussed.

"Creatures of Darkness. They have roamed Remnant since the dawn of time. All they live for is killing. Human, Faunus. This led to our entire civilization getting confined in four kingdoms. Vale, Vacuo, Mistral and Atlas. And then there's Menagerie, the Island of the Faunus. Of course, there are villages all over the world, but they often disappear over night. Destroyed by Grimm or Bandits." Pyrrha explained.

"That sounds bad. No wonder you kids are fighters." Johnson said and took a deep breath from his cigar.

"It gets worse. The older a Grimm gets, the more intelligent and stronger it becomes. And they are attracted to negative emotions." Ren added.

"So, if one were to cause a panic, it would attract them?" McKay asked.

"Exactly."

The Lieutnant let out a deep breath. "Okay. That was everything. Bailey. Come in."

The door behind them opened, and Bailey, the sniper Ruby met this morning, stepped in. "Ruby." He said, and smiled. Ruby smiled back, and waved.

"Corporal Bailey. I think you've already met our new allies?" Silva asked.

"Hell yeah. They and the Chief saved our asses out there." When he mentioned the Chief, Silva growled quietly.

"And you've got the data I send you?" McKay asked, and put her pad to the side.

Bailey nodded. "Of course. All on the Datapad."

"Great. And don't forget. This information is secret. No one who wasn't on this ring is allowed to know it. "

"Yeah, Yeah. I know the drill."

"Corporal. You will show them around the Base, and equip them. And show them how to use Scorpions and Banshees." Avery commanded.

The sniper saluted. "Aye, aye, Sir!"

"Alright. Get moving." Johnson shouted.

* * *

Bailey led the Teams out of the room, and they made their way to the armory. Along the way, they saw soldiers carrying crates, weapons, and sometimes wounded.

Luckily, it didn't take long to reach the room. It was also well lit, with makeshift shelves full of weapons, and crates filled with ammo and grenades.

As soon as they entered, Ruby erupted in pedals, and speeded from one shelf to the other. "OH MY GOSH! THIS HAS NEEDLES STICKING OUT! AND THIS ONE SHOOTS SHOTGUN SHELLS!"

"What's wrong with her?" Bailey asked, watching the huntress amused.

"She's a big weapon nerd." Yang answered, and smiled.

"Okay then. Let's hope she doesn't get a orgasm. The Sergeant wants all of you to pick a weapon."

"Uhm, we already have weapons." Nora pointed out and activated Magnhild.

Bailey nodded. "Sure. But in case your weapons get destroyed in battle, or you are unable to use them through other means, it's better to have a replacement. It'd be best if you take one similiar to your normal weapon."

Yang clapped her hands together and walked to a long weapon leaning against a wall. "I take that this is a Shotgun?"

"Yes. The good old M90."

"Nice." Yang said and picked it up. It was pretty straight forward. The shells came into the little opening at the top, and the trigger released them again, only this time, into an alien.

Now everyone looked for a weapon of choice.

Weiss decided to keep her Assault Rifle, since she had some experience with it.

Ruby, of course, took a sniper rifle, staying true to her favorite weapon type.

Blake decided to take an SMG with a silencer, since it would be extremely efficient with her comabt style. It even had a little scope attached to it.

Jaune already had his Magnum, and thus only searched for some extra ammo.

Nora took a couple grenades, and then chose a rocket launcher.

"No." Bailey said, and took the SPNKR from her. "A Rocket Launcher isn't a good weapon to carry around all the time."

"What? You know that Rockets blow stuff up, right?" Nora defended her choice.

"Sure, but the weapon itself is heavy, and the rockets aren't lightweight either."

"I think you underestimate my strength."

"I know you're strong. But they are also pretty big, so you can't just take many with you. Maybe four, or six. Not a good amount of Ammo for an engagement." The Corporal put the SPNKR back into the shelf.

Nora thought about the points he brought up. He definitely had a point there. She sighed, and decided to take a Battle Rifle.

Pyrrha took a DMR, since it seemed similiar enough to her Milò.

Ren took an SMG too, and put some more ammo in Stormflower.

"Great. If you have any questions about your guns, just ask one of the Marines or ODSTs. Another thing." He opened a box and threw a jacket to every member of the teams.

"What's that?" Weiss asked as she opened up the jacket. It had a camouflage pattern, and was colored green and brown.

"Combat uniform. Holds off bullets, and keeps you warm or cold, depending on the enviromnent. And here…" He took eight earpieces out of the box, and gave everyone one. "That are earpieces. You stick them in your ear, and you can speak and listen over the radio."

"Yeah… I'm not going to wear that uniform." Yang said. "We have our outfits to fit our combat style."

"If you wanna help us, you'll wear them." Bailey ordered. Some of them sighed and put it on. Luckily, the jacket include a magnetic point on the back to store a weapon.

Jaune felt something in a pocket of the jacket, and found a small pack, simply named 'Meal'. He knew that soldiers sometimes had packed, or canned, food with them on longer missions, and guessed that this was one such meal. He put the jacket under his armor.

Everyone tried to put the jacket on without runining their outifts. For some, that worked better than others. Bailey gave them a small knife, which Ruby, Blake, Pyrrha and Nora used to cut out a bit of the uniform, so that their own weapons could still be attached to their old places.

"Alright. You're all set. Now, let-" He was interrupted by his pad, and looked at the message. "Nevermind. Blake, Ruby, Jaune, Nora. You four are going to meet up with the Sergeant on the landing pad. The rest of you comes with me. We're gonna drive some tanks." Yang cheered and, after saying goodbye to Ruby, followed him. Nora frowned, and was rather sad that she didn't get to drive a tank.

* * *

The mentioned four followed order and went to the landing pad, where Johnson and one of the ODSTs waited for them.

"Kids. I want you to introduce you to Sergeant Parker. He's going to lead your mission."

"Mission?" Ruby asked.

"Yep. We're gonna rescue the Captain."

"What exactly happened here anyway?" Jaune asked. "I mean, it doesn't look like a full military base. And the captain is captured... Honestly, this all seems like a mess."

Parker stepped forward. "Well, to make it short, we fled from Reach, which got attacked by the Covenant. After the jump, we found ourselves in this system. Of course, the Covenant followed us, and attacked our ship, the Pillar of Autumn. While we evacuated, Captain Keyes and a small part of the Crew landed the Autumn on the ring, but got captured by the Covenant. And we're gonna rescue them."

There was a silence for a minute. The four teenagers had to comprehend this information. "Alright." Ruby finally spoke up. "Then let's rescue Keyes."

* * *

 **And Chapter 2. It's a bit short, I know, but the third one will make up for that.**

 **If anyone wonders why there are SMGs, DMRs and BRs among the weapons: I don't think it was ever specified if the Pillar of Autumn carried them. But since it came from Reach, DMRs are to be expected. Since the BR entered service 2548, and quickly became a well received weapon among the UNSCDF, it's also likely that some of them were aboard the Pillar. And the SMG is somewhat of a standard weapon.**

 **Also, I think it'd be good to mention the exact models of the weapons:**

 **Ruby: SRS99C-S2 AM sniper rifle** **  
**

 **Weiss: MA5B Assault Rifle**

 **Blake: M7S SMG**

 **Yang: M90 Shotgun**

 **Jaune: M6D Magnum**

 **Nora: BR55HB**

 **Pyrrha: M392 DMR  
**

 **Ren: M7 SMG**

 **And now, to answer some questions raised in the reviews:**

 **rocketmce: Yes, I know about the timespan. I have already thought of something. But of course, some of the characters will age. (Although four years isn't a big number.) It depends on the time they spend in things like cryosleep too.  
**

 **Evinco: Yes, they'll play a part in this, but obviously not until they get to Earth. About the moral stuff, the Marines on the Halo are just relieved to have them here as help, and take everything they can.  
However, morally speaking, I'd say that, due to the fact that they are from Remnant, are seventeen and have a choice, RWBY and JNPR are another thing than the Spartans.  
**

 **TheFishKing: It depends on the type of flood. Of course, a hit by a powerful form will deplete Aura immensly, but an infection form will drain the aura over time while it is attached, and eventually break it, and infect the host. However, some of them can use their semblance to avoid infection through that method. For example, Yang can light her hair on fire, Nora can give out electric shocks and Ruby can burst into pedals, causing the infection form to loose it's grip. Spores can still infect them normally though.  
After all, Aura is just like an energy shield from Halo.  
**

 **Plasma Dragon 321: Well, there's 'RWBY: Fight for Reach' by Sniperz-X-Elite, or 'The Wormhole-Noble Red' by Zwill711, just to name two.**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	3. Oh captain, my captain

Chapter 3: Oh captain, my captain

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **Canyon under the Covenant Cruiser "Truth and Reconciliation"**  
 **September 19; 2552**

Blake still had to wrap her mind around everything. This morning, she woke up normally, got ready and went on the mission to take out the Taijitus. And now, she sat inside of a Pelican, together with Ruby, Jaune, Nora, a Supersoldier named Masterchief and five ODSTs, including Sergeant Parker. And they were heading to infiltrate an alien battle cruiser. Definitely not the type of stuff she thought she'd do today. She learned that, after she revealed her Faunus-heritage, McKay instantly assigned her to this mission. Most likely due to her ability to see in the dark, which is incredibly useful in the night.

She snapped out of her thoughts, as she heard Cortana's voice over the radio. Her earpiece was in her human ears. She tried to put them on her cat ears, but it was way too loud. "The enemy has captured Captain Keyes, and are holding him aboard one of their cruisers, the _Truth and Reconciliation_. The ship is currently holding position approximately three hundred meters above the other end of this plateau."

They felt the thrusters of the Pelican picking up force as they slowly landed and the bay opened.

"So, how do we get inside the ship if it's in the air? The Corps issued me a rifle, not wings." One of the ODSTs asked.

"Yeah. He has a point." Jaune agreed. "Maybe Ruby could use her Semblance to fly up, but we..."

"There's a Gravity lift that ferries troops and supplies between the ship and the surface. That's our ticket in." Sergeant Parker explained and cocked his rifle.

The Pelican landed, and everyone got out of the ship. They were in a rocky, desert-like area, on the side of a cliff. Over them resided the giant, purple Covenant ship. It's mere sight left Ruby, Jaune, Blake and Nora in awe, and fear. If those things attacked planets in the dozens, it wasn't a surprise that humanity was on the brink of destruction. Still, Ruby wondered what the weaponry of the thing was like.

"Once we get inside the ship, I should be able to lock on to the tracking signal Captain Keyes' neural implants," Cortana added.

"Hit it, Marines, go go go! The Corps ain't payin' us the hour!" Parker yelled, and the ODSTs ran toward the only opening that led them closer to the ship.

"Wait, are we getting paid?" Nora asked, and they started to follow their comrades.

"I dunno." Ruby shrugged.

They followed the ODSTs and found a bit of higher ground overlooking the immediate area. "Ruby, assist the Chief with sniping away the Covies," Cortana ordered.

Ruby ran up the higher ground and took aim with Crescent Rose. There were two stationary turrets, operated by Grunts. A couple of Grunts slept around the rocks, and two Sangheili patrolled together with three Jackals. This should be easy. She aimed at the head of the red Elite and pushed the trigger. The round soared through the air and turned the Elite's head into a purple cloud. One of the Grunts fell out of his turret as the Chief shot the tank on his back.

Suddenly, Ruby heard a hissing noise, and a blue, bright ball landed behind them. "What is that? A sp-" She was unable to end her question, as the grenade exploded into a bright ball of blue plasma.

"RUBY!" Nora, Jaune, and Blake yelled.

The explosion threw her off the high ground and on top of a Grunt. The little guy looked at her and then raised his Plasma Pistol. Apparently, he was scared, considering the fact that he was blabbering. However, now wasn't the time for feeling sorry. She quickly burst into Rose Pedals and got behind him. Before he could react, she ripped off his tank, and the alien started to run away in panic. Green gas came out of the tank, and the cables that were still attached to the Grunt's back. Ruby threw the pack away before it exploded.

"Let 'em have it!" Parker yelled and the ODSTs charged in, assisted by Ruby's friends. They quickly shot down the other Sangheili, followed by the Jackals. They had forgotten about the other turret tough, and the Grunt quickly opened fire. Huge, purple plasma bolts scorched the ground and a rock near them, leaving little flames in the grass. They all dove for cover. One of the plasma bolts hit the leg of one ODST. He screamed in pain as he fell to the ground.

"Nora! Take out the turret!" Ruby yelled, and Nora followed suit. She charged forward, from one rock to another.

Meanwhile, Jaune came to aid the wounded ODST. He pulled out one of the medkits he grabbed in the Pelican. It looked like a can of hand creme, and he put the foam on the wound. The ODST screamed for a moment but then went quiet. The foam was closing, and slowly healing the wound. He'd survive.

Nora finally reached the turret and hit it with Magnhild. The weapon flew away in a big arch, and down the cliff. Chief took out the remaining Covenant soldiers and then approached the cliff. A narrow path led along it to the next area. And there were more Covies incoming. Not much of a problem though, as he just threw a grenade, and blew them off the cliff.

"What should we do with him?" Jaune asked, and pointed at the wounded soldier.

"I'll call Foehammer. She'll pick him up. We have to keep going." One of the other ODSTs said. They heard a growl from somewhere. "Fast. Before the Covies figure out that we're here."

Jaune nodded and patted the ODST on the back. "Let's go."

They followed the Chief, who had already begun to secure the next area. A good number of the Grunts were dead already, and John was currently reloading his Assault Rifle. Ruby shot one of the Jackals, while Nora used her Battle Rifle to take out two Grunts.

Blake charged forward and used her Gambol Shroud to cause one of the Sangheili to fall over. He tried to get up again, but she stabbed him in the chest with her blade. At least she tried. The shield of the alien stopped the blade, and he was able to retaliate. He got up and aimed his Plasma Rifle at the Faunus. She left a clone behind and shot at the surprised Elite. After a couple of bullets, his shield flickered and died, and she jumped forward. Her blade stabbed through its throat, and the Sangheili collapsed.

Jaune tried to align his pistol with a grunt but missed the first shot. Once he was back to base, he would have to learn how to properly use a gun. The fourth shot, however, hit and ripped apart the Grunt's torso. At least the handgun was powerful.

With the help of the ODSTs, it didn't take long to take out the Covenant. The next area wasn't different. Only a couple Elites and Grunts. After that area, the finally reached the Lift. It was put down in the middle of a plateau, surrounded by hills. A couple of Shades had the area on lockdown, assisted by Grunts, Elites, and Jackals standing guard.

For some reason, there was occasional plasma fire in the night sky above the plateau. Blake guessed that the Covenant was engaging someone, or were training maneuvres.

"We're directly under the ship now," Cortana said.

"No shit," Nora replied sarcastically.

"Good work, Marines! And you too, Huntsmen." Parker shouted.

"Mother of God… I'd never thought I'd get close to one of these things. How the hell are we supposed to get inside that monster?" One of the ODST asked.

"Uhm… The Gravlift?" Nora pointed out and gestured to the giant platform.

"Oh. Right."

"We can't just go there. The turrets would tear us apart." Jaune explained. "Even with our Aura."

"I've got an idea," Blake said and dashed away. She ran to one of the turrets and left a shadow clone. All of the Covenant noticed that and shot at the shadow, only to hit the turret and destroy it. Blake repeated the process with the other turrets.

"Man. I've seen holograms back on Reach, but they weren't that good," Parker commented. As soon as the last turret was taken care of, the others charged in and took out the remaining aliens.

"Well done, Miss Belladonna," Parker said. "If you were part of the Corps, I'd promote you." They looked up the lift and noticed two big things coming down. "Covenant forces sighted! Let's hit 'em, Charlie Team!"

Instead of the suspected Sangheili, two massive, heavily armored aliens came down. One of their hands was a giant shield, while the other one was a massive cannon. Spikes grew out of their back.

"Hunters!" One of the ODSTs yelled.

"What?" Ruby asked. This was really the time they regretted that they didn't have time for any big briefing.

"Mgalekgolo. Shoot 'em in the back!" Parker answered.

Ruby turned into Rose Pedals and dashed behind one of the hunters. She instantly shot it, but the bullet bounced off of the heavy back armor. The hunter turned around and smashed his shield against her. Ruby flew back and crashed into a stone, which shattered from the impact.

"RUBY!" Her friends yelled and charged at the hunters. One of the Lekgolo shot his cannon and blew up one of the ODSTs. The hit literally ripped him to shreds.

Nora jumped up, and let her hammer down on one hunter. Even though hunters were the strongest unit of the Covenant, Nora was at least equal. The impact caused the hunter to stagger, which was enough time for the Chief to stick a plasma grenade to it's back. It exploded and left the back open for used the chance and rolled around the hunter, only to stab it in the back repeatedly.

The hunter gave up and fell over. The ODSTs and Blake had opened fire on the other Hunter. Although the bullets bounced off, the monster still staggered from time to time, due to some bullets hitting it's exposed neck or upper legs. Eventually, the Chief climbed on the back of the hunter and stuck a grenade into it. Worms flew everywhere as the grenade exploded.

Everyone took a breath, while Jaune and Blake ran to Ruby's aid. She was okay but had a big headache.

"This area's clear. No hostiles present." Parker said through the comm. Suddenly, a loud screech was heard. "What was that?"

"Oh no…" Ruby muttered. Everyone started to look around.

"There!" Chief yelled and aimed his rifle at the sky. The faces of the four teens fell into shock.

There was a giant bird in the sky, with a pitch black body. Its head was covered by a white bone mask, which in turn was decorated with red markings. And it was as big as a longsword.

"What the hell is that?" One of the ODSTs asked

"A- A Nevermore," Jaune muttered.

"A what?" The Chief asked.

"A Grimm."

"What? What is it doing here?" Cortana asked.

"I dunno. Must have gotten here the same way as we did." Ruby suggested.

"Anyways, we have to take it out," Jaune said.

"Alright. Marines! Let's take out that bird."

"Hoo-ah!"

They all aimed at the Grimm and opened fire. Some of the bullets hit the mask, which caused them to bounce off. The other rounds pierced the flesh of the bird's neck. It was about to sweep down, as a green ball hit it in the back. It cried out in pain and turned towards the attacker. A banshee was attacking the monster.

"Huh. Seems like the Covenant aren't too fond of the Grimm either." Parker said.

The Nevermore managed to grab the Banshee with its claws and broke off one of the 'wings'. The vehicle lost height and crashed into the cliff, where it exploded in a bright, purple fireball. Now, the Grimm turned it's attention back to the soldiers.

"It's coming back!" Parker yelled, and everyone opened fire once again.

The Nevermore stopped mid-air and flapped its wings. Suddenly, giant, black feathers flew towards them. They impaled the ground, and even the landing pad.

"This day is getting worse and worse!" One of the ODSTs yelled. Ruby looked around. They'd have to take the thing out soon, or it'd eventually impale them all on feathers. Either that or the Covenant would send reinforcements, forcing them to fight on two sides. It seemed like the Chief and Jaune realized that too. While the Spartan was still trying to hit the Nevermore with his Assault Rifle (which didn't work well from the distance), Jaune ran toward the cliff.

"What are you doing?"

Jaune jumped into one of the damaged shades. "If I can clip its wings, it would have to come closer!" He activated the console of the turret, which didn't seem to complicated. There was a big trigger, obviously how he activated the fire.

He aimed it at the Nevermore and shot. Plasma escaped the front of the turret and hit its target. The Nevermore cried out and lost hight. It took three seconds to crash into the ground. Still, it wasn't dead and ran towards the group, and let out a terrifying screech.

All aimed their weapons at the creature and unloaded a full magazine into the creature. It looked down, using the plate on its head as a shield.

"This isn't working!" Nora said and activated Magnhild. "Ruby!"

She nodded, and Nora jumped on Crescent Rose. Ruby threw her at the Grimm, and Nora led her hammer down on the Grimm's head. It thrusted the monster into the ground, and Blake went in to attack the head of the creature with her weapon.

The Nevermore didn't stay down for long and tried to get up. In the process, it showed it's throat, and everyone shot at it. A hail of bullets later, the Grimm fell down and started to disintegrate.

Everyone caught their breath. "So..." Parker began. "Those things are common where you come from?"

"Well, yes and no," Ruby said. "This one was old, judging by the size. Grimm that old are rare. At least close to the kingdoms."

"I hope there aren't more of those monster's here."

The Masterchief looked up into the sky. "I think there just might." Everyone looked in the same direction and noticed that there were dozens of Banshees and other aircraft in the air, fighting off Nevermore and Griffons.

"Where are they all coming from?" Nora asked.

"Maybe they got transported with us. We don't know the radius of the device." Blake guessed.

"Let's use the chance and get up in the damn thing," Parker suggested. All nodded. They stepped on the pedestal, and slowly ascended into the cruiser.

* * *

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **CCS-battlecruiser "Truth and Reconciliation"**  
 **September 19; 2552**

Inside the ship, they found themselves in a surprisingly empty cargo bay. Like the Covenant weapons and vehicles, the inside of the ship was mostly purple and organic, with a grey ground. Covenant supply cases stood around everywhere, and one inactive Wraith rested in a corner. Four small, locked doors led out of the room.

"We're in. I've got a good lock on the Captain's CNI transponder. No Covenant defense detected." Cortana explained.

"What? There's no Covenant here? Maybe nobody's home…" One of the ODSTs said sarcastically.

"Please don't jinx it, dude," Jaune said and looked around. He saw one of the doors opening, but nothing came through before it closed again. "I think the doors might be broken. They just open randomly."

"What?" Ruby asked.

One of the ODSTs screamed in pain before it stopped. They all turned around and saw him floating in the air, impaled by two blue plasma blades.

"Stealth Elite!" Parker yelled.

They all opened fire at the position the plasma blade was visible, but it disappeared. Nora felt something behind her and swung her hammer around. The Sangheili's camouflage stopped working and his dead body flew into a wall. Suddenly, the doors all opened and dozens of Covies poured into the room. The humans took cover behind the Wraith and crates. Masterchief pulled out a grenade and threw it into a group of Jackals, blowing them up.

"You had to open your mouth!" One of the two remaining ODST said and fired his Assault Rifle, taking out a Grunt.

Plasma hit the side of the Wraith, scorching it black. Jaune fired his pistol, hitting the tank on the back of one Grunt. The hole in the thing caused it to leak methane, and the Grunt to fly around uncontrollably, only for him to crash into a Sangheili, killing both. If that wasn't a fight to the death, it would've been quite funny to watch.

More Covenant came out of a door.

"Alright. Enough is enough." Blake said.

"You've got a plan?" Nora asked.

"Yeah, I need your help," Blake whispered in Nora's ear, and the hammer-wielder nodded.

Blake and Nora jumped out of the cover and ran to one of the doors. Their allies gave them cover fire, taking out a couple of aliens. Nora hit the lock in the middle with Magnhild, causing the metal to bend, and the door to be inoperable. They repeated that with the other three doors, effectively locking the Covenant out of the Cargo Bay, while the rest of their team took out the remaining soldiers inside.

"Clever," Cortana said.

Before the two could answer, one of the walls burst open, and two Hunters came through the hole. They immediately began to fire their cannons at the group, and Blake dodged one in the last second. The other shot hit the wall and blew a large hole in it.

She ran forward, and around one of the Lekgolo. The ribbon of Gambol Shroud tied around the beast's legs and caused it to fall over. Parker ran toward the hunter and put a grenade in it's back.

Meanwhile, Ruby and the Masterchief took on the other Hunter. Ruby drew his attention to her using her semblance, opening the back of the creature for the Chief to shoot. It was a good thing that the Hunters were a bit slow, especially when compared to Ruby.

"Area secure. We'd better keep moving. How about that door?" One of the ODSTs said and pointed at the hallway the Lekgolo came from. Blake now noticed that there wasn't a wall, but a big gate for big cargos. Well, there was. The Hunters didn't seem to care much about the wellbeing of the ship.

They walked through and found themselves in a hallway, leading to another door. One of the ODSTs kneeled down in front of it and tapped around. "The doors locked. I can't bypass it. We can't get through here."

"You can't," Nora said, putting on a wide grin.

"What do you mean?"

"Cortana?"

"Yes?"

"Can you tell me if there's a power line somewhere?"

"Sure. Wait a second." Cortana accessed the ship's systems. "Right next to you, in the wall. Why?"

Nora took a swing at the point and opened up a powerline. Behind them, the lights went off. She stuck her tongue into the line, and the metal parts of her outfit started to flicker with electricity.

"Is she suicidal?" Parker asked.

"Just watch," Jaune responded.

Nora got away from the powerline and charged at the door, slamming her hammer against it. It broke out of the doorway and flew across the other cargo bay on the other side. It cut down a couple of Grunts in the process, and Nora stormed into the room.

The others just looked as Nora took down Covie after Covie.

"So, how long does that last?" Parker asked, slightly afraid.

"I don't know. A couple of minutes." Ruby answered. They heard an explosion and saw that Nora threw the Wraith against a wall, and splattered a couple of Jackals with it. The Covenant soon locked as many doors as possible, hoping to contain the raging Nora.

"She's kinda scary." One of the two ODSTs pointed out, and everyone nodded.

"You should have seen her at Beacon. This one guy, Cardin, had bullied me and a girl named Velvet. After he got his butt kicked by Velvet's team, Nora came and broke his arms." Jaune explained.

"Yeah. Remember me to not piss her off." The Chief added, to everyone's surprise.

They heard the cry of a Sangheili, as he was buried under Magnhild. Nora had cleared out the entire bay by herself, and nearly all doors were under strict lockdown. Except for one, due to it being broken.

"Can we do this in every room?" Parker asked.

"We can't," Cortana answered. "I don't want to accidentally drop the ship out of the sky by destroying an important powerline."

They used the door to enter the next hallway and made their way to the next big room: A large docking bay. Just as they entered, a Spirit dropship started.

The bay consisted of three levels, the one they were on; one that led to a number of control panels on a higher area, that in turn parted the bay in two sections; and the third and last one, that only consisted of some ledges. Dozens of Supply crates laying around on the bottom floor. Two large energy shields closed off the inside from the outside of the ship.

"Cortana to Echo 419, requesting reinforcements at our position."

 _"Foe Hammer here, Cortana… I read you, but you're inside the Covenant ship. I'm not sure I can-"_

"Lock onto my signal and approach fast and low. There's a shuttle bay on the ship's starboard side." The AI answered.

 _"Roger, Cortana. Echo 419 on approach."_

"Uhm, guys? There are rarely any Covies here." Ruby pointed out. They looked around and saw only some lone Grunts carrying crates and supplies around. They haven't even noticed the group.

 _"Cortana. Here Echo 419. I can't come to you. The air around the shuttle bay is full of Banshees and giant birds. It might sound crazy, but I think there are also some Griffons here."  
_

"Roger Echo 419. Keep a safe distance. I'll prepare a briefing package about them for you."

 _"Roger Cortana."_

"Alright. Seems there are a lot of Nevermore out there. And they occupy the Covenant." Cortana explained.

"That explains why there so few Aliens here," Parker said. "Not that I have anything against it."

"Should we take them out?" Ruby asked, and saw one of the Grunts tripping, getting up again and dusting himself off. "They are kinda adorable when they don't shoot at you."

John aimed his rifle at one Grunt and shot him. "We should. Just to be sure."

Ruby sighed. "Okay."

The surprised Unggoy were taken out without any problems. However, this raised another problem. "Hey, uhm, all the doors are locked." Nora pointed out.

"Wait a moment. I'm going to access the Covenant Battlenet and locate an override code to open a door." Cortana explained.

"You better hurry, Cortana. We can't hold them off all day." One of the ODSTs said.

"Working on it." The A.I. replied.

At this moment, a big hangar door opened, and two hunters stepped in. They instantly opened fire, but one of them basically exploded as Nora used her hammer to fire a supply box at him. His weapon brother got enraged and charged at the group. Ruby used her Semblance too distract it, and the Chief shot it in the back, aided by the ODSTs. They all took some ammo that was on the ground and guessed that the Covenant took it from captured Marines.

"Got it. The door is open. Everyone should move I can't guarantee that it won't lock again when it closes." Cortana said. Everyone nodded and walked through, only for the door to close again.

They fought their way through the hallways, making their way up the hangar until they reached a big room. A dozen Grunts slept around the place, with two Elites patrolling. In the middle of the room was a big, round platform with holographic panels around. A golden Elite stood there, watching over the screens.

"What's with Goldie over there?" Ruby asked Cortana, whispering to not wake anyone up.

"Let me see. According to the Battlenet, this should be Lat 'Ravamee. The shipmaster of the Truth and Reconciliation."

"He's important then," Parker muttered.

Before anyone could do anything, Blake already got to work. She snuck around the pillars, silently taking out Grunt after Grunt. She then nodded to the group, signaling that all Grunts are done for. She used the Ribbon of Gambol Shroud to pull one of the Elites to her, only to stab her Blade through his throat. The others attacked the other patrolling Elite. He quickly fell under the concentrated fire.

The shipmaster activated a handle on his waist, revealing an Energy Sword. Lat charged at them, taking the bullets like a sponge, thanks to his strong energy shield. He even dodged or blocked, some of the bullets.

He swung at Jaune, who blocked the strike with his sword. It didn't damage the shield, aside from a little scorch mark. Another nice side-effect of Aura. He retaliated by swinging his own sword at the Sangheili, hitting his arm. The Shipmaster turned around, only to see the muzzle of a scythe. A large BANG echoed through the room, and Lat fell down.

Sadly, his shield was still holding, although not for long. Chief shot the Elite with his Assault Rifle point blank, draining the last of his shields. Jaune took the chance, and stabbed the Elite through the heart, or one of the two, killing him.

"Nice work. That should hit them hard." Cortana complimented. "Also, Jaune, your shield seems extremely durable."

"Yeah. My ancestors did great work with it. And I channeled my Aura into it, so there's that."

Ruby walked over to the corpse and picked up the disabled energy sword. With a push of a button, the plasma flared to life. She looked over to Jaune.

"Jaune, I know Crocea Mors is an heirloom and all, but don't you think it's time for a little upgrade?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if I can find out how this thing works, I could try to integrate it into your sword."

Jaune thought for a moment and sighed. "Fine. But please, please don't break it."

"Don't worry. I built Crescent Rose by myself after all!" She put the handle of the sword in one of the pockets on her skirt. It stuck out a bit, and she had to be careful not to accidentally activate it.

"Wait, YOU built that thing?" One of the ODSTs asked. Ruby nodded. "If we survive this, you should get a job at a weapons division. Having transforming weapons would not only be useful, but also pretty badass."

"Are you three done?" Parker interrupted. "This looks like a good spot. We'll mind the store here while the Masterchief and the kids go and find the Captain."

"You sure that you three can hold this position?" Blake asked Parker.

"We're ODSTs, Ma'am. We haven't trained years to bail out. We can do this."

"Alrighty then. Let's go." Ruby said and bumped her fist in the air.

* * *

They left the bridge, and fought their way through the hallways of the ship, slaughtering Covenant left and right. Thanks to the battle, or rather war, going on outside the ship, the halls of the ship were relatively empty.

Following Cortana's lead, they reached the brig, which was patrolled by Sangheili and Grunts. Blake and the chief opened fire on the Grunts, while Ruby, Jaune, and Nora engaged the Elites.

"It's the Chief!" One of the captured soldiers said.

"Yeah, and four teens." Another one added.

Two of them cloaked themselves, and the three stood still, waiting for any sign of where they were. Ruby noticed something moving in the corner and shot. The shield of the Elite flickered, and a second shot later, it fell down. Luckily, the cloaked Sangheili lacked good shields.

Suddenly, Jaune felt something warm next to him, as the Elite activated his sword. Jaune swung his sword back and hit the Sangheili. His shields were still holding, which changed as a burst from Nora's BR hit it. The Elite tried one last attack, but Jaune had already stuck his own sword into the alien's chest.

"And they really kicked the shit out of the Covenant."

"Stow it, Corporal!" One of the prisoners, wearing a white uniform, shouted at the Marine. "Chief, open these cells and let's get the hell out of here. The power control's along the back wall."

John accessed the holographic panel, and the energy shields holding the marines in their cells got disabled. Ruby went into the cell and helped the white-clothed guy up. He looked at the Chief. "Coming here was reckless. You know better than this…. Thanks." He walked out of the cell and up to the huntsmen. "And you are?"

"Ruby Rose."

"Jaune Arc."

"Blake Belladonna."

"NORA!"

"We are here to help you guys." Ruby began. "Nice to meet you… Keyes?"

"Good observation." Keyes turned his attention back to the marines. "Marines! Lock and load your weapons, let's be ready to move!"

The soldiers agreed and picked up the weapons of the dead aliens. Keyes himself picked up a Needler and stepped in front of everyone.

"While the Covenant had us locked in here, I overheard the guards talking about this ringworld. They called it…. Halo."

"One moment, Sir," Cortana said. "Accessing the Covenant Battlenet. According to the data in their networks, the ring has some kind of deep religious significance. If I'm analyzing this correctly, they believe that Halo is some kind of weapon. One with vast, unimaginable power."

"And it's true… The Covenant kept saying that whoever controls Halo controls the fate of the universe."

Meanwhile, Ruby drifted into her imagination about this monster of a weapon.

"Now I see… I have intercepted a number of message about a Covenant search them, scouting for a 'Control Room'. I thought they were looking for the bridge of a cruiser I damaged during the battle above the ring. But they must be looking for Halo's control room."

"That's bad news. If Halo is a weapon, and the Covenant gain control of it, they'll use it to against us to wipe out the entire human race." Keyes said.

"But if we were to gain control of it…" Jaune muttered.

"We could use it to wipe them out instead," Nora added.

"What? No!" Jaune yelled, shocked at her idea.

"Why not? They are trying to do it with us." Nora replied.

"Yeah, but if we do it to multiple species, are we any better?"

Nora sighed. "You're right."

"What I actually meant was, if this thing has some religious significance to them, we could use it to force a surrender. Or threaten them with it."

"Like the galactic equivalent of holding a gun to someone's head," Blake muttered.

Keyes was in thought. "Then we have to beat the Covenant to the control room." He turned toward Jaune. "Good idea, son. You could make a great tactician."

"Thanks."

Keyes gestured to the entrance. "Marines! Go!"

As he said that, the doors opened and Covenant stormed the room. Thanks to the Huntsmen and Masterchief, they were taken care of quickly though. They all made their way through the corridor, taking out several Kig-Yar and Unggoy along the way. As they re-entered the bridge, Parker and his ODSTs were gone. Instead, three dead ODSTs were scattered on the ground.

"NO!" Ruby yelled and ran toward one of the bodies. She grabbed the Dog tags, which identified the man as Parker. "No. Parker…" Tears began to run down her cheek. Although she didn't know him for long, Parker was already something like a friend to her. And she lost him without being able to help him. The tears changed into a shocked expression, however, as something grabbed her by the neck, and lifted her up. Ruby saw an energy sword activating in thin air, and realized who killed the Helljumpers. A shot broke the silence, and the Elite's head exploded. Purple blood splashed on Ruby as the body of the Alien collapsed. She looked to her side and saw Chief reloading his sniper rifle. The Marines and Keyes opened fire and a second stealth Elite collapsed behind a pillar. Jaune walked up to Ruby and helped her up.

"I'm sorry," Jaune said.

"He's dead," Ruby whined.

"Yeah. I know. And we'll avenge him."

Ruby nodded, tried to suppress the tears that tried to come out of her eyes. She took the dog tags of Parker and his squad and put them into her pocket. If they couldn't get the bodies out of the ship to bury them, they could at least bury the tags.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cortana had contacted Echo 419.

"Cortana to Echo 419. We have the Captain and need extraction on the double."

 _"Negative, Cortana. I've been engaged by Covenant and Grimm, and I'm having trouble shakin' them. You'll be better off finding your own ride… sorry."_

"Acknowledged, Foe Hammer. Cortana out." She closed the radio channel and turned to the Captain. "Air support is cut off, Captain. We need to hold here until she can move in."

One of the Marines began to panic. "Aw man! We're trapped here! We're screwed!"

He calmed down as Blake slapped sense into him. "Hey!"

"Stow it, Marine!" Keyes said in defense of Blake. "Panicking won't help us."

"Actually, it will make things worse, since it'd attract Grimm." Blake pointed out.

The Captain turned back to Chief and Cortana. "Cortana, if you and the Chief can get us into one of those Covenant dropships, I can fly us outta here."

"Yes, Captain. There's a Covenant dropship still docked. Also, it seems like the Grimm is really giving the Covenant hell. I found multiple reports about massive attacks, and troops being overrun."

"Grimm?" Keyes asked.

"We'll explain everything when we're safe," Cortana said, dismissing Keyes' question for now.

Suddenly, the doors opened and a dozen Grunts entered the room. Thanks to the combined fire of the Marines, the Masterchief, Blake, Ruby, Nora, and Jaune, they were taken out before they could do any damage.

The group fought their way back to the hangar, were Chief approached a holographic panel. The Spirit stored under them loosened itself and slowly drifted up. They could hear plasma fire and screeches of Nevermore outside. The bay of the Spirit opened, and everyone stepped inside. The Soldiers sat down at the troop bays of the ship, while Keyes went into the cockpit.

They heard shots going off behind them, and saw two hunters entering the hangar.

"Give me a minute to interface with the ship's controls," Cortana told the Captain.

"No, no need. I'll fly this bird out myself." Keyes answered and took control of the Spirit. He flew it out of the bay, turned around, and rammed the two Lekgolo into the wall, killing them instantly.

"Nice one, Sir!"

"Time for a little payback." With that, he maneuvered the dropship out of the hangar and through the battle going on outside.

Maneuvering through the masses of Grimm and Covenant was harsh, but it seemed like the Covenant took the Grimm as a bigger threat. At one point, a Griffon tried to attack the Spirit, but the plasma turret shot it down in no time.

* * *

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **Alpha Base**  
 **September 19; 2552**

At least Alpha Base seemed clear, considering the situation. The landing was peaceful, and Johnson, Yang, Pyrrha, Weiss, and Ren were already waiting for them.

The bays of the Spirit opened, and everyone stepped out. Keyes walked over to Johnson, together with the Chief, while the teens met up.

"You did it!" Yang yelled excited. "And? Did the Covies go out like bitches?"

Ruby and the other three that were onboard the ship looked down. "We lost all the ODSTs." She muttered. "And worse, the Grimm are here."

The eyes of everyone widened in shock. "What? The Grimm?"

"Yeah. We killed a giant Nevermore." Nora explained. "And there were dozens of Grimm in the air."

"Jaune guessed that they came here the same way we did," Blake added.

"Well, seems like you had an eventful night," Pyrrha replied. "We learned how to drive Tanks. And Banshees."

"Aw, I want too." Ruby and Nora said, both disappointed.

They noticed Keyes approaching them, together with Johnson and Bailey.

"Thanks for rescuing me," Keyes said and shook their hands. "I can't believe what Cortana told me about you."

"It's true though," Bailey said. "They are that good. I mean, you probably saw it yourself."

"That's right. I want to apologize that you kids have been dragged into this." To the teens, it seemed like Keyes felt especially sorry. "I hoped that this war wouldn't cause us to send children into battle. Not again." He looked over to the Chief, who was giving his Sniper to a Marine.

"Don't worry," Ruby answered. "It's our job. It's not like we're going to sit on the side and watch."

"Good to hear. Now go to the rooms that we assigned you. You'll need your sleep for tomorrow."

The eight nodded and went to their room. It was nothing more than part of a cave, with fieldbeds at the walls. They all sat down, and Jaune decided to finally eat something. He took the MRE out of his jacket and tried it.

He nearly puked and threw the food in the corner. This was the worst thing he ever ate.

* * *

 **And Chapter 3 is up.  
**

 **I know the first three came out fast since they were already done when I released the first one. From now on, however, it'll go slower.**

 **And yes, the Grimm are going to play a rather big role in the story.**

 **In case anyone wonders, the Marine that got injured was eaten by a Beowolf.**

 **Edrap: Dammit, why didn't I think about this?**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	4. C-Day

Chapter 4: C-Day

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **Shallow Ocean**  
 **September 20; 2552**

After finally savin Captain Keyes, the teams went to bed for the night. Weiss listened to Ruby, as she explained how the mission went. For the heiress, it was quite a worrying thought that the Grimm were here on the Ring, and she hoped that they were confined to the plateau around the Truth and Reconciliation.

And if not, well, than it was another thing to add to the list of things that ruined her day. At this point, Weiss was sure that they didn't have a way home. And if that was true, than there was no way for her to take over her dad's company, and bring it back to its old days.

But that were matters she'd have to think about when the time was right. And it certainly wasn't now. She was sitting in a Pelican, together with her Teammates, Masterchief and a couple of Marines. Team JNPR, along with other Marines, sat in a second Pelican, called Bravo 022.

"The Covenant believe that what they call the 'Silent Cartographer' is somewhere under this island. The Cartographer is a map room that will lead us to Halo's control center. The island has multiple structures and installations. One of them contains the Cartographer." Cortana explained to everyone, while the Pelicans slowly closed in on the beach of the Island. The plan was simple: Storm the beach, split up and find the map room.

It wasn't going how Weiss wanted it too. She hoped to assist Keyes in his own mission, but the Captain insisted that finding the Control Room was more important, and they could use the teens here more.

"We're approaching the LZ, it's gonna be hot! Get set to come out swingin'. Touchdown!" Foe hammer yelled, and the Pelican's bay opened. They were already under fire from some Sangheili and Grunts, aided by a couple of Jackals. "Hit it, Marines!"

Ruby instantly used her semblance to take out one of the Grunts with her scythe, while Weiss provided cover for the Marines.

Yang moved from stone to stone to take out two Jackals. When she was there, however, they were already blown up by one of Chief's grenades.

"They were my kills!" She yelled over to him.

The Chief only looked at her, and returned to shooting Covenant.

Next to them, JNPR jumped out of their Pelican, and started to storm their position. Pyrrha used her Semblance to move a crate, and proved cover for her allies, while Ren took the Covenant under fire. As soon as the crate was moved, Pyrrha took her DMR, and started to take out the Grunts.

Weiss watched it for a second, while she waited for the Marines to get into actual cover. As soon as they were save, Weiss dashed forward, and stabbed Myrtenaster into a Grunt. She heard a hissing sound, and saw something blue flying into her direction. Thanks to Ruby, Weiss already knew what it was, and created a glyph to stop the grenade.

Meanwhile, Chief, JNPR and Yang were closing in on the last troops. It didn't take long to take them out, and thus securing the beach.

"Area's secure. All hostiles have been eliminated." One of the Marines said over Radio.

 _"Affirmative. Echo 419 inbound. Somebody order a Warthog?"_

"Yeah, we could use one." Pyrrha answered, and they all gathered around an alien structure, peaking out of the sand and going into the inner parts of the island.

"Alright. We'll do it like that." Ruby said. "My Team is going to search for the Cartographer in that direction." She pointed south, up the beach. At least that's what Weiss guessed, considering that the arrow on her Assault Rifle pointed into the other direction.

"Meanwhile, we'll look in the other direction. That way, we can probably cut down the time it needs to find it." Jaune added.

They heard the sound of engines, a sound they already learned to like, and saw how Foehammer brought a Warthog, which set down on the Beach. _"I'll bring the second one in a couple of minutes."_ The Pelican took off again, and the eight were approached by a bunch of Marines.

"What are we supposed to do?"

"That's still my decision, leatherneck!" Another Marine joined them. The teams knew him as Waller, a Gunnery Sergeant. He had the commando over the local forces, if one doesn't count the chief. It was decided that the kids could give orders, especially when they were dealing with Grimm, but unless they do, the highest ranking Marine has the commando. Or the Chief, depending on the situation. However, most of them didn't like to give the commando over the troops to a couple of teenagers.

"We'll stay here and defend this position. The Covenant will probably try to take it back. We won't let that happen. Right, Marines?"

"Hoo-Ah!"

"Good. We just have to wait for the second Warthog." Ren explained. All of them stood there for a minute, until Chief finally broke the silence.

"To hell with the waiting. RWBY, get on the Hog."

The four girls sighed, and jumped in. Yang took the Chaingun, Blake rode Shotgun, and Weiss stood next to Yang, managing the ammo supply of the gun. Ruby grabbed the bars at the end of the jeep, and held tight to not fall off. "Good luck!" She yelled as the five drove away.

"Okay, let's go find that map room that will show us Halo's control center." Cortana said.

* * *

Back at the beach, it took one more minute for the other Hog to arrive. Ren took the driver seat, Pyrrha jumped on the other seat, and Nora took the Machinegun. Jaune was handling the ammo.

"Thanks, Shoehammer!" Nora said over the radio, and everyone could hear a loud, annoyed growl.

They drove off, leaving the Marines behind. It didn't take long for them to arrive at a cliff, with a gigantic structure jutting out of the cliff. On the beach was rock formation with a small path leading up.

"You think this is it?" Jaune asked.

"Well, it could be. But how can we get up there?" Pyrrha asked, and looked around. "We should try to drive around the cliff. Maybe there's a way that leads into the island."

"Good idea." Jaune replied. "Ren, go."

He started the engine again, and they followed the beach. After the next turn, they actually found the wanted path. Which was guarded by a huge amount of Jackals, an Elite and three Grunts.

Ren sped up the Warthog, and rammed it into the group of Jackals. It mowed down four of them, and Nora used the Chaingun to mow down the last Jackals, before the surprised Aliens could even react. Suddenly, a grenade flew into their direction, and stuck to the Warthog.

"Get out!" Jaune yelled, and everyone jumped as far away from the jeep as possible. The grenade exploded, and destroyed the Wathog in a bright ball of plasma, fire and molten metal.

Pyrrha got up, and shot her DMR at the Elite. His shields absorbed the bullets, but eventually fell. He expected a headshot, and thus went into cover. Pyrrha guessed that, and threw her shield, using her semblance to guide it around the tree.

With a splatter of purple blood, her shield came back, and as she stepped around the tree, she could see that her shield decapitated the Sangheili.

In the meantime, her teammates had taken out the Grunts, and wanted to advance into the middle of the island, as a message came through over the radio.

"Yes?"

 _"Jaune? It's Ruby. We've got a problem."_

* * *

A couple of minutes earlier, Team RWBY and the Chief were approaching another structure. Along the way, they saw some Jackals, so nothing they couldn't handle.

The structure itself was coming out of the cliff, and a Spirit was taking off from the balcony.

"They're already inside! We need to get in there quick, before they discover the location of Halo's control center!" Cortana explained over the radio.

"Alright. Let's give them hell." Yang said, and saw two big aliens walking out of the structure. "Uhm, that are hunters, I take it?"

"Yep." Ruby replied.

She and Weiss jumped off, while the Chief drove the Hog around the hunters, so that Yang could shoot them.

Weiss created a glyph under one hunter, throwing him, or it, into the air. Ruby used the chance and used her semblance to jump high into the air, and rammed the blade into the hunter. It didn't do enough damage though, and Weiss used another Glyph ram the Mgalekgolo into a wall. Ruby took her Sniper Rifle, and shot at the creature, hitting it's neck. Worms flew everywhere, and the helmet fell off, as the Hunter slid down the wall.

Chief was still driving circles around the Hunter, while Yang and Blake took it under fire. Most of the bullets bounced off the armor, and it was only a question of time until the Mgalekgolo would hit them. And even with their Aura, they weren't sure if they could survive the impact of the Assault Cannon, and the explosion of the Warthog.

John stopped the Hog, and went on collision course with the hunter. It stopped the hog with it's hands, and rammed it's shield into the front of the vehicle. The back went flying into the air, and Chief climbed out of the front, and on the Hunter. It tried to shake him off, but soon had a grenade stuck in its back. Chief jumped off, while Blake and Yang landed next to him. The hunter exploded, and smoking worms flew around everywhere. The ruined Warthog fell down to the beach behind them.

Ruby and Weiss joined them. "Well, they are tough." Weiss pointed out.

"They are." Masterchief replied. "Come on. We have to get inside." He ran off, and Team RWBY followed.

They went into the structure, and down a ramp, where they saw a golden Elite, holding an energy sword, standing in a doorway. He was accompanied by an Elite minor, and three Grunts. They took down the Grunts in a hail of fire, and Ruby shot the Elite with her Sniper Rifle.

"Don't let them lock the..." The Elite locked the door. "Door."

"Well, so much for that." Yang stated, and shot her Shotgun at the door. Of course, it didn't do anything.

"Interesting..." Cortana begun. "I underestimated the Covenant's understanding of Halo's subsystems. They've locked the doors, and we don't have enough firepower to get through them." She opened up a radio channel to Keyes. Team RWBY was able to hear the conversation over their earpieces. "Cortana to Keyes."

 _"Go ahead, Cortana. Have you found the control center?"_

"Negative, Captain. The Covenant have impeded our progress. We can't proceed unless we disable this installation's security system."

There was a small pause. " _Understood. We're still en route to the objective. I may be out of contact when we get there."_ There was another pause. _"Here are your orders. I want you to use any means necessary to force your way into the facility and find Halo's control center before the Covenant, and failure, people, is not an option."_

Suddenly, they could hear Foehammer over the comms. _"Echo 419 to ground teams. I'll stay on station and keep an eye out for Covenant bogies."_

 _"Second squad, ready to roll!"_ Waller yelled over the comms. _"Soon as everybody's topside!"_

 _"Good luck, people. Keyes out."_

"So, do we just go and look for it?" Yang asked.

"Wait, let me contact Jaune. Maybe they've found something." Ruby contacted the leader of the other team, and soon heard his voice through her radio. "It's Ruby. We've got a problem."

 _"What? What is it?"_

"The Covenant locked us out. According to Cortana, there's a security station somewhere on the island. Can you look for it?"

 _"Sure. We are actually on the way to a structure. Maybe it's it."_

"Alright. Good luck. Ruby out." She closed the connection. "Okay, Jaune says they may have found it."

"Good." Cortana replied.

Ruby opened up her own radio, again, and called Waller. "Sergeant Waller? Here's Ruby. Listen, can you watch out for Covenant outside the structure?"

 _"Affirmative. We'll go into position."_

* * *

Back on the other side of the island, Jaune turned off his comm. "Okay, it seems like we're on the right track." The four started to make their way into the island. The way led through a ravine, guarded by a couple of Grunts and a single Elite.

After taking the platoon out, a green ball flew over their heads, and hit the cliff next to them. They looked up, and saw two Hunters coming into the ravine, their assault cannons ready.

They fired another shot, which hit a tree, destroying it in the process. The Team jumped behind a rock to take cover.

"Come on, let's take them out." Nora said determined,

"We can't." Jaune said, and looked around the rock. "They are blocking the way. There's no way we can get a clean shot at their backs."

"Can't we use our Aura to block the shots?" Pyrrha asked. At that moment, another shot hit a nearby stone, completely annihilating it.

"I'd rather not try it." Ren deadpanned.

They thought for a moment about what to do, while the shots of the hunters impacted around them, destroying stone after stone.

"Nora?" Jaune asked. "You have grenades, right?"

Nora nodded, and showed him the bag. "I've got five or six."

"Pyrrha, can you use your Semblance to control them?"

"I can try."

Jaune looked around the rock, and looked where the hunters were currently at. Most of the stones had already been destroyed. "Throw them into the cliff. Maybe we can burry them under rocks."

"Alright." Nora threw the bag, and Pyrrha used her Semblance to let it crash into the cliff above the hunters. One of them was burning from the fireball, while the other was burried under stones.

"Nice one." Nora said.

They ran up the hill, and moved the rubble, to make sure the Lekgolo were dead. The one that was burried tried to move, but was stopped by a hail of bullets from Ren.

The four ran up the hill, and found themselves in some sort of crater, with a structure in the middle. They looked around for a minute, but didn't find anything useful.

The way out of the crater led to a bunch of trees, where an Elite, Grunts and Jackals were already waiting for them. One side of the area led to a structure. Plasma hit the side of the hill, as the four teens went into cover.

Pyrrha shot her DMR at an Elite, taking out it's shield, and finishing the Alien with a headshot. After some testing, she noticed that the bullets for the DMR sometimes hung in Milò, something she had to look into as soon as she had the time.

The loss of their officer caused the Grunts to flee. A useless option, as Ren and Nora went in to take them out.

Meanwhile, Jaune engaged the Jackals, and tried to get a hit. However, the energy shields of the Kig-Yar held off his sword. Thus, he used his shield to block the plasma shots and claws of the aliens, and tried to use his Magnum to shoot them. Eventually, he hit the exposed hand of one Kig-Yar, and the alien cried out in pain. A bullet soared through the air, and into the creature's skull. The other Kig-Yar turned around, and looked at the source of the bullet: Pyrrha.

While doing that, they exposed their unprotected side to Jaune, who went in and rammed his sword into the abdomen of one Jackal. The last one turned back to him, and got shot in the back by Pyrrha.

With the Covenant forces taken out, they made their way around a structure, and found themselves on the structure they saw from the beach. Now, they could see two entrances, leading into the complex.

"Ruby?"

 _"Yeah? Do you have it?"_

"Well, we think. We've just entered the structure."

 _"Okay. Take care."_

"We will." Jaune closed the radio, and they went down into the structure. The way led down a ramp, and into a giant room. The back was blocked with Covenant Crates, and two hunters, accompanied by a couple of Unggoy, were guarding it.

Luckily, it seemed like they had just put up the blockade, and were distracted. JNPR used the chance, and shot the hunters in the back. The monsters turned around before they were done though, and opened fire.

Nora charged forward, and used Magnhild to ram one of the hunters into the wall.

* * *

"I see... something gray." Yang said.

"Oh! Oh! An alien structure!" Ruby answered, and Yang gave her a thumbs up.

"Can't they unlock the door faster?" Chief asked, getting annoyed by the wait.

"Well, who knows how big their complex is." Weiss stood up, and walked up to a window, which enabled them to look inside the structure. "I mean, look how big this is."

She was honestly baffled by the sheer size of the structure. From her estimations, it led over a kilometer deep into the ring.

* * *

The hunter in the wall wasn't done for, and swung his shield at Nora, who also flew into a wall.

Pyrrha engaged a Grunt that was watching the fight. It had it's pistol overloaded, and when she attacked, he let go of the trigger, shooting one of the hunters in the back, killing it.

This led to an awkward silence, where his allies stared at him angry. A chance that Nora used to ram her hammer into the other Hunter, severing his upper and lower body. Pyrrha quickly rammed Milò into the Grunt, and the others tried to flee. However, they forgot about Ren and Jaune, who took them out before they could even reach the ramp.

With the fight over, they looked at the barrier.

"Why did they pile up these crates?" Nora asked.

"I don't know. Maybe to stop us?"

"If that's the case..." Pyrrha said, and started to move the crates around with her Semblance. "Then they should have tried better." She opened a hole on the blockade, which they used to get through.

They were in a long tunnel, leading up to some sort of hologramm. "This place is unbelievable." Pyrrha muttered, as they walked throught the tunnel. All of them were amazed by the architecture.

They reached the hologram, which depicted some sort of building. In front of it was a holographic panel. Jaune walked up to it, and, for some strange reason, knew how to use it. He accessed the panel, while Nora walked off to the sides, looking into the pit below the room.

"Well, that worked out better than expected." He muttered, proud of himself, and opened a connection to the other team. "Hey, Rubes? We've found it. Is the door open?"

 _"It is. Thanks."_ There was a small pause. _"Chief says you should get outside and wait for extraction. Or come here and help us. Whatever you want."_

"Alright. Jaune over." He closed the connections. "You know, it was kinda weird." He said to Pyrrha. "Like, I knew how to use it out of instinct."

"Uhm, guys?" Nora said, from the ledge. Her friend came closer.

"What is it?"

She pointed down. "Something down there just moved."

"What?" They looked down, and noticed that the ground was indeed moving. Then, they saw two red, glowing eyes looking at them. "Uh-oh."

Something rose up from the pit, and they could finally see what it was: A gigantic King Taijitu.

"Well, we found them." Ren said.

"Run!" Jaune yelled, and they left the room, running through tunnel, as a transmission came through.

 _"Mayday, mayday! Dropship Bravo 022 taking enemy fire! Repeat! We are under heavy fire and are loosing altitude!"_

Behind them, the Grimm was crashing through the walls of the tunnel, following them. They jumped through the hole in the blockade, and now knew why it was there. Appearently the Covenant was scared of the Grimm. Jaune noticed two glowing dots in the room, and plasma flew through the air.

He groaned. "We can't deal with this right now." He and his team ignored the Stealth-Sangheili, who turned their fire to the Taijitu, as it broke through the barrier. It swallowed one of them, and wrapped itself around the other Elite, squishing him, before it followed JNPR again.

Said Team left the structure, and with no other option, jumped down to the beach, their Aura packing most of the impact. On the beach, they saw the wreckage of Bravo-022, with bodies of Marines scattered around. On the ground was a Warthog, one Rocket launcher, and rockets. Grunts and Jackals patroulled around it.

They didn't notice JNPR, until the Taijitu left the complex above them, and came down to the beach. Now they could see the full scale of the monster. And it was gigantic, bigger than any Taijitu they'd ever seen.

To their surprise, the Covenant actually concentrated their fire on the Taijitu.

Jaune looked around. "I've got an idea. Nora! Take the Rocket launcher!"

"You don't have to say that twice!" With that, Nora sped off, and took one of the SNPKR.

"Pyrrha! Can you put the Warthog back on it's wheels?"

"Sure." She flipped the Warthog over, and Ren jumped in. Jaune took the Machine gun, while Pyrrha rode shotgun, so that she could use her semblance to get them out of the way if needed.

The Taijitu had nearly exterminated the Covies, as bullets started to hit the side of its armored, black head. It turned towards Ren, Jaune and Pyrrha, while the other head continued to fight the Covenant. At this point, all of the Jackals were dead, and the only reason the Grunts were still alive, was due to the fact that they were on top of the stone formation.

Ren drove the hog around the Grimm, while Jaune took it under heavy fire. The bullets didn't do much damage, but enough to cause it to stagger. The Taijitu tried to snatch them again and again, but missed every hit, thanks to their speed.

"Hey, look over here, you giant bitch!" It turned around, and saw Nora, holding a SPNKR. A rocket escaped the launcher, and hit the Taijitu's head, blowing off parts of the bone armor.

It tried to bite her, but received another rocket, which flew right into it's mouth. It blew up the black head, leaving only one.

The other head now shifted it's attention back to the Warthog, which was driving around the snake. On the cliff, there was only one Grunt left. And a brave one at that. Out of anger, the Unggoy jumped off the rock, and onto the Taijitus head, where it started punching the snake.

It didn't do anything though, and the Grimm shook the Grunt off, only to catch him mid-air, and swallow him whole. Another Rocket hit the side of the face, and bullets penetrated it's left eye. It cried out in pain, and a blue light eminated from it's mouth. It fell down dead, and started to dissolve.

Ren drove up next to it, and all of them jumped out. "What was that?" Nora asked.

"I'd say the Grunt activated a Plasma Grenade in it's mouth." Jaune said, and walked up to the body of the grunt. Or what was left of it. "In a way, we should thank him."

"Why are they attacking the Covenant though?" Pyrrah asked. "I thought Grimm only attack Humans and Faunus?"

"I think I know why." Ren said. "We always say that because Humans and Faunus are the only sentient species on Remnant. But now, there are other races."

"So, they attack all intelligent life forms?" Nora asked, and Ren nodded.

* * *

Team RWBY was still waiting, and Chief was getting frustrated. A couple of minutes ago, he even tried to open the door with a grenade. Needless to say, it didn't work.

That made it even better when the door finally opened.

"Seems like your friends did it." Chief said.

Suddenly, the radio turned on, as Ruby received a message from Jaune.

 _"Hey, Rubes? We've found it. Is the door open?"_

"It is. Thanks."

"Tell them to wait for extraction, or get here and help us." Chief told her.

"Chief says you should get outside and wait for extraction. Or come here and help us. Whatever you want."

 _"Alright, Jaune over."_

With that, the connection was closed again, and they went into the hallway. One side led to a balcony, overlooking a deep pit. The Chief kicked a piece of rubble down into it, and no sound was heard. Everyone gulped, and went into the other direction.

Suddenly, they heard a message over the comms. _"Mayday, mayday! Dropship Bravo 022 taking enemy fire! Repeat! We are under heavy fire and are losing altitude!"_

"Oh god, please don't die..." Yang muttered.

They went into the first room, where a red armored Sangheili was tapping around on a holographic panel. He hadn't noticed them, and Chief took a knife, only to burry it into the Elite's neck.

"They don't know that we're here yet. Be quiet." They walked up a ramp, and realized that the Covenant really didn't know that they were here.

Blake used Gambol Shrud to drag a Grunt to them, and broke his neck with a swift motion. Another Grunt on the ledge noticed it, and tried to scream, as bullets of Blake's SMG hit it. The silencer did it's work, and the other Covies below them weren't alarmed.

They looked down, and saw an Elite, standing next to three Grunts. Yang already had an idea, and took a Plasma Grenade from one of the Grunts. She activated it, which wasn't too hard, since it only had one button, and threw it. It got stuck on the Elite, and exploded, killing the group.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled. "We wanted to be quiet!"

"Oh... Right. Shit."

The door in the back of the room opened, and two Jackals came through. Ruby turned into Rose pedals to get behind them, and took them out with her Scythe.

With the way free, they advanced down into the facility, and came into a bigger room. It had one open part, and a hallway leading around it. They could see two Hunters in the middle, accompanied by Jackals and Grunts.

"You think I can take on a hunter in a fist-fight?" Yang asked, and received shocked looks from her friends.

"If you want to die, go ahead." Chief replied, and shot down the first Grunt. The Covenant opened fire, and Weiss provided cover for her team. Chief, Ruby and Blake took out the little guys, and then concentrated fire on the two hunters.

"Aw, why not?" Yang muttered, and ran up to one of the hunters. She ducked under a shield swing.

"Yang! Are you crazy!" Ruby yelled.

Masterchief ran around the other hunter, and planted a grenade into its back.

Meanwhile, Yang ducked under another hit, which cut off some of her hair.

Her friends fell silent, since they knew what would come. Chief aimed at the hunter, but Blake pushed his gun down. "Trust me. She got this."

"You. Little. Asshole." Yang muttered, and punched her fists together. A shockwave eminated from her, shattering class that was built into the walls, and her hair catched on fire.

She grabbed the hunter's shield, and ripped it off, only to climb onto him, and rip off his backarmor. The Hunter led out a guttural scream, as she started to rip the worms out of his back.

"Remember me to not piss her off either." John said.

"Don't worry." Weiss assured him. "Unless you touch her hair, she's harmless. Well, as harmless as a huntress in training with shotgun gauntlets can be."

They looked back at Yang, as the hunter's armor fell to the ground. Dead worms laid around everywhere, with some of them still twitching. She calmed down, and they went down a U-shaped ramp, as a transmission came in.

 _"Foehammer to ground teams, you got two enemy dropships coming in fast!"_

Waller's voice was heard. _"Dammit! Okay, people, we got company comin', let's set the table. Engage enemy forces on sight!"  
_

 _"It'll be easier to hold them off from inside the structure. Can you get inside?"_ Cortana asked.

 _"Negative! They're closin' in too fast, negative!"_ There was a pause, and they could hear the sound of gunfire in the distance. _"Chief, Girls, you've gotta find the Cartographer! We'll keep 'em busy as long as we can."  
_

 _"Give 'em hell, Marines!"_ Cortana replied.

"Just try not to die. We'll back you up in short time." Ruby responded.

"We'll be in a tight spot if we don't get out of here before additional reinforcements arrive. Let's find that map."

"Alright." They entered a bigger room, with two doors leading out. They took the first one, and came to a ledge, overlooking a small room, that led to an intersection. One way led down into a tunnel, while the other one led into another, bigger room. "Okay, I think it'd be best if we split up." Ruby said. "Me, Chief and Blake will go into the room, Yang and Weiss will go into the hallway."

They agreed, and split up. The hallway wasn't too long, and they could already see two Elites standing guard at the end of it. One of them wore a blue armor, while the other one had a red one. Weiss created a glyph, while Yang cocked her M90. The heiress shot her forward, and Yang crashed into the Minor. He fell down, and Yang ended him by blowing a hole into his upper body with the shotgun. The other Elite turned around, and opened fire. Yang dodged the plasma as best as she could, and went closer, to attack the Sangheili. He dodged, and delivered a punch to the back of her head.

This way, he turned his back to Weiss, who slashed him with Myrtenaster. His shields still held, and he opened fire on her. Weiss created a glyph as cover, and shot her Assault Rifle at the Sangheili. His shield broke, and he fell down a couple of bullets later. Weiss reloaded her rifle, and both went into the room. It was a circular one, with a hologramm in the middle. It depicted the ring, and strange symbols pointed to different sections of it.

They saw the Chief coming around the corner across the room, followed by Ruby and Blake.

"I think we found it." Yang pointed at the hologramm. Chief went over to the holopanel, and accessed the map.

"Analyzing... Halo's control center is located there." The ring highlighted a certain section. "That structure appears to be some sort of temple or shrine, if I interpret this correctly." Cortana paused for a second, as she looked through the acquired data. "Interesting. A shrine is an unlikely place to put such a signifcant installation."

"Maybe whoever built this was highly religious themselves?" Ruby suggested.

"If that's the case, then they must've been pretty full of themselves." Blake pointed out. "You don't worship yourself unless you have a giant ego."

"Come on now." Masterchief interrupted the conversation. "We have to get out of here."

"Right. Waller is still out there. Let's go and help him." Ruby said, and they went outside, onto a small balcony overlooking the pit.

 _"Cortana to Captain Keyes."_

Everyone eagerly waited for an answer, but none came. Instead, Foehammer answered the call.

 _"The Captain has dropped out of contact, Cortana. His ship may be out of range or having equipment problems."_

 _"Keep trying. Let me know when you've reestablished contact, and then tell him that we determined the location of the control center. We'll be heading there as soon as we're topside."_

 _"Affirmative. Foehammer out."_

They went up a ramp, and were instantly under fire from Covenant forces. They dived into cover.

"What are they doing here? I thought Waller-" That's when it hit Ruby, and she opened her radio, as her friends started fighting. "Waller! Waller! Are you there?"

She heard plasma- and gunfire over the radio, and an explosion. To her relieve, she also heard Waller coughing. _"We're here. Some of them slipped through."_

A plasmagrenade went off near them. "Yeah, we noticed. Try to stay alive. We're coming."

 _"Please be quick. We're under heavy fire out here."_

Now, Ruby took action herself, and charged forward using her Semblance. An Elite and a Grunt got caught in the resuilting vortex, and thrown into a wall. The force of the impact killed the Unggoy, and left the Sangheili open to get shot by the Chief.

They took out the remaining Unggoy and Kig-Yar, and went up the structure, and re-entered the room where they fought the hunters. They used the hallway leading around the room, and found a ledge with dead Marines and ammo on the ground.

"Take what you can." Chief said, and grabbed a pack of Assault Rifle ammo.

Ruby sighed. She didn't like to take stuff from dead people, but she didn't have much of a choice right now. She took a medikit, while Blake took ammo for pistols.

They went back, and met a group of Sangheili and Unggoy. They were taken by suprise, and thus taken out quickly. The group went back up the ramp, and took out some Grunts in the other room.

The five entered the hallway where the locked door was. As Weiss went around the corner, a blue blade slashed across her side, and she stepped back. Her Aura still held up, but was depleted greatly.

They saw the golden Elite that closed the door, and opened fire. To their surprise, he actually managed to block some of their bullets with his sword, and charged at them, concentrating on Weiss.

She blocked a slash with Myrtenaster, and threw him around with a glyph. He landed between her and Ruby, who used her semblance to create a whirlwind, and threw the Elite down the pit at the little balcony.

As they left the facility, they saw in shock how all the Marines, including Waller were dead, and a Spirit took off. Ruby ran to the Marines, and looked if anyone was still alive.

"Please no..." She said, as she found the body of Waller. Most of his body was cooked from plasma.

Meanwhile, Weiss looked around, looking for any survivors. There were a couple of dead Stealt Sangheili around, but nothing that survived the battle. She turned to Ruby.

Yang walked up to Ruby, and embraced her in a hug. "It's okay. Calm down."

"It's not okay. I told them to stand guard. It's my fault that they're dead." Ruby said.

"It's not your fault." They looked up, and saw the Chief. "As much as I hate it, soldiers die. You can't safe everyone. No matter how hard you try. Take their dogtags, and get ready. Foehammer is inbound."

Ruby nodded, and collected everyone's dogtags. They heard the sound of an engine, and Foehammer came closer. Everyone stepped in, and Ruby tried not to look at the corpses.

Meanwhile, the Chief opened up a channel to JNPR. "Here is Sierra-117. Please come in, JNPR."

 _"We're here. Is something wrong?"_

"We've found the location of the control room. Stand by for extraction."

 _"Understood."_

The pelican flew around the island, until they could see their friends, next to the wreck of Bravo-022. The ship went down, and everyone jumped in. Nora put a rocket launcher in one of the weapon racks on the wall.

"And? How did it go?" Jaune asked.

"Well, we finished our mission." Weiss said, and then looked at the ground sad. "But the Marines are dead."

"Dammit." Jaune replied. "Do you at least have the dogtags?"

Ruby nodded. "You seem like you had quite a battle yourself."

The four looked at each other. "Yeah. We found the King Taijitu we were looking for."

"Oh god. It's dead, right?"

"I'm sorry." Chief interrupted. "What is a King Taijitu?"

"A big snake, with two heads." Chief looked around the room, trying to imagine how this thing looked. "Anyway, it followed us out of the structure, resulting in a fight. You may not believe it, but it was actually taken out by a Grunt."

Everyone stared at them. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. It got eaten, but managed to detonate a grenade inside the thing." Jaune said, a bit proud of the little guy.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but can we go back to our mission, please?" Cortana said, and everyone nodded. "Foehammer, here are the coordinates and a flight plan I've worked up."

"Uh, Cortana... these coordinates are underground." The pilot answered from the front of the ship.

"The Covenant did a thorough seismic scan. My analysis shows tha Halo is honeycombed with deep tunnels, which circle the whole ring." The Pelican flew up to the crater in the middle of the island, where the structure opened, revealing the entrance to said tunnels.

"I hope your analysis is on-the-money, Cortana. This Pelican won't turn on a dime."

They entered the structure, which closed above them. "Look on the bright side, Foehammer. The last thing the Covenant will expect is an aerial insertion... from underground."

* * *

 **Solar System, Remnant**  
 **Forerunner structure, Emerald Forest**  
 **September 22; 2552**

Doctor Arthur Watts had a rough week. He was just getting back from Mistral, as his mistress, Salem, send him here. According to her, one of her Seers found the structure, and she was immediatly interested, hoping that it was a relic.

It wasn't, but neither was it a dissapointment. It turned out that it was some sort of foreign machine, with the power to teleport anyone. After they realized that, everything had gone fast. He placed a charge above the entrance to the cave, and thus blocked the entrance.

He was then tasked to find out exactly how it worked, something that was harder than he expected. Especially with the roadblock he had right now. He needed a test subject to send through. Luckily, he heard Tyrian enter the cave through a secret entrance they built. He was looking for a subject, and him returning meant that he got one.

He was a bit surprised though, as the Faunus entered the cave with a child in his possession. "Please tell me you didn't just pick her off the street."

"Don't worry." Tyrian replied, and sat the girl down. "I stole an Icecream truck and lured her into it. I just had to knock her out then." He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a bundle of lien. "I also made some money along the way."

Watts shook his head. Sometimes, he wondered how nothing had collapsed. Sure, it worked, but it wasn't exactly done in secret. He took the unconscius girl, and sat her down next to the pedestal. Tyrian didn't even tie her up.

He found out that one could adjust the range of the device. The first time it went off, it took eight children, and nearly all the Grimm in the forest. That the kids disappeared wasn't a bad thing though, as one of them had silver eyes. Something they were glad was gone.

At this point the girl seemed to slowly wake up. "Where- Where am I?" She stood up, and dusted off her gray-green dress, before she looked at Watts. "Salutations! Can you tell-"

He quickly pressed the button on the device, and the girl disappeared. It seemed like everything was coming together. Soon, they could send Grimm through, claiming a whole new world for Salem.

* * *

 **And Chapter 4 is up.**

 **A little explanation to the dates: It is the 22th on Remnant, due to a difference in the flow of time. Basically: 1hr in Halo = 3hrs on Remnant.**

 **Now to reply to some reviews:**

 **TheFishKing: Well, the Flood can also infect animals. But in the early stages, the prefer sentient life. They still can't be infected though, since they dissolve upon death, leaving no biomass behind.**

 **rocketmce: It's gonna be roughly the same ending, but I won't tell as of now who'll survive. I can say that I'm haven't decided on Bailey's fate yet.  
About this mod: Yeah, I like it. But then there's the problem with, well, the ring blowing up.  
In case you wanna know how Johnson survived: He and two other Marines took a Pelican and fled the ring. **

**TheComposcreator: No, it's just metal. The reason it holds of plasma is due to his Aura, which is channeled into the weapon. And he won't even be there when the Flood is released. Why is gonna be explained in the next Chapter.**

 **Evinco: No, it doesn't fly in their faces. But they had only seen him in combat, and were tired and hungry from a long day, with other things on their mind the Chief's backstory. Still, they'll eventually find out. And I don't know anyone who doesn't take issue with ONI. And yes, they'll take influence.**

 **Edrap: See my reply to TheFishKing.  
**

 **A fan: No, they'll not show up. And RvB isn't part of canon, just an alternate timeline. (Even though I'd say that the concept of Project Freelancer could fit into the Halo Universe.) And when the Halo part wraps up, well, we'll see what happens then.**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	5. Vetro Strike

Chapter 5: Vetro Strike

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **Underground maintenance tunnels**  
 **September 20; 2552**

To say that Yang was hyped was an understatemend. Maybe it was the adrenalin, or the pride of taking down a hunter in a fist-fight, but whatever it was, she was ready for whatever was to come. There was something different about fighting the Covenant than fighting the Grimm.

Sure, the Covenant were actually intelligent, feeling beings. But that was the thing. While they and the Grimm had roughly the same goals, the Grimm were just following their instincts. For the Aliens, it was a conscius decision to slaughter humanity like cattle. In Yang's eyes, that made them more evil than the Grimm ever were.

Luckily, this war would be over soon. When everything was going as planned, they'd reach the Control Center, and use Halo to force a peace with the Covenant. And then, maybe they could find a way to get home.

She snapped out of her thoughts, as she felt the Pelican going higher, and stopping in the air. The differences in the acceleration of the Pelican were only minor in the troopbay, but still enough to be felt.

"This is as far as I can go." Foehammer shouted from the cockpit.

"Roger that. We can find our way to the Control Center from here." Cortana answered. "Are you eight ready?"

Everyone nodded, and Yang cocked her Shotgun. "We're ready."

"Good luck." Foehammer replied. "Foehammer out."

The bay opened, and they saw a balcony, with two Shade turrets. There was a giant, crystal-shaped door. Everyone jumped out, and Jaune ran toward one of the turrets, and jumped in. The Chief took the other one.

As soon as the door opened, they fired, burning down everything that was coming through. As they couldn't hear screams anymore, they stopped firing. Everything that was left of the Covenant was smoking, molten armor and cooked flesh.

Yang had to admit, that was a stench she didn't want to get over. It hurt inside her nose, worse than anything she ever smelled.

Behind the door was a hallway, that led left first, and then made a turn to the right. In all honesty, it could have just been a straight hallway.

At the end of it waited another door, with a big room behind it. A Sangheili was patrouling the area around the door, something which was immediatly taken care of. The rest of the local forced were no problem either, consisting only of Jackals and Grunts.

"The Covenant presence here is stronger than I anticipated. They seem to have the entire region secured." Cortana noted.

"I'd say than it's time they loose it." Nora said, ready for more bloodshed.

"That might be harder than you think." Cortana replied. "Even if, and that's a big 'if', we manage to take the area for ourselves, there'd be a near infinite amount of reinforcements coming our way. Even eight huntsmen and a Spartan-II can't take out an entire Covenant fleet from the ground."

"She's right." Chief said. It seemed like he knew that full well, and the teenagers wondered if something happened recently.

"What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked, and put a hand on his shoulder.

He took his shoulder away. "We've lost a lot of good soldiers in this war."

He started to look through the dead Covies for grenades. A time Cortana used to speak to them. "I'm sorry about him."

"What's wrong with him?" Ruby asked.

"When Reach fell, we lost nearly every Spartan. Some of them were good friends of John."

They looked at the Spartan, who was returning with a couple of grenades. He gave everyone one, and they continued. RWBY and JNPR were sure that there was a bit of a more quiet time to speak with him.

The group went into the next hallway, which led to an open bridge. And it got cold. Even though their jackets helped out a bit, they could still feel the low temperatures. The only ones who seemed unfaced were the Chief, due to his armor, and Weiss, who was used to these temperatures. The bridge itself spanned over a deep ravine. And there was, of course, Covenant on the bridge. Luckily, the Grunts at the door were asleep, and thus taken out quickly.

"Interesting..." Cortana begun. "The weather patterns here seem natural, not artificial. I wonder if the ring's environment controls are malfunctioning, or if the designers wanted the installation to have inclement weather."

"Well, up to this point, the ring seemed to double as a reservoire." Weiss said, and fired her Assault Rifle at a Jackal. The bullets bounced off it's shield. "It'd make sense to have a polar region."

They heard engines, and saw a Pelican flying over the bridge. It had a Griffon at it's tail, which the teens shot down immediatly. Still, the Pelican was heavily damaged, and slowly landing below them.

 _"Here is Fire Team Zulu requesting immediate assistance from any UNSC forces. Does anyone copy? Over."_

 _"Cortana to-"_

The A.I. was interrupted by Ruby. _"Here's Ruby Rose. I'm coming to help. Hold tight."_ She walked up to the edge of the bridge and looked down. "Yeah, that should be possible."

"Ruby? What are you doing?" Yang asked.

"I'm not letting anyone else die today. Not if I can prevent it."

"Chief! Say something!" Weiss yelled, but the Spartan was already taking down Covenant forces further down the bridge.

She looked back, and saw that Ruby jumped down the bridge, turning into rose pedals and using the recoil of her weapon to stop the fall.

"Oh, dammit. Blake! Let's help her!" Yang yelled, and Blake nodded. She wrapped her arm around Yang, and they used the band of Gambol Shroud to get down.

"Those idiots. We have to get down there!" Weiss said. JNPR agreed, and they ran after the Chief, to the next door, that led inside again. It opened, and a golden Elite carrying an Energy sword stepped outside.

"Oh, great." Ren groaned. "Come on, let's take him out."

* * *

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **Frozen ravine system, near the Control Center**  
 **September 20; 2552**

Ruby landed, close to the surprised Marines. Behind her, Yang and Blake landed, looking at the Marines. The Pelican they were using crashed into the wall, and ammo, weapons and a overturned warthog were scattered on the ground.

"It's you." One of the Marines said, and cheered.

"You three are a godsend." The leader of Team Zulu, which was a Sergeant, according to the symbol on his shoulder, approached them. "We are in a really bad position. Most of our guys are scattered around the chasms, and there are a abundance of Grimm in the area. However, they are mostly fighting the Covenant presence here."

Ruby thought for a moment. "Can we get the troops together?"

"Sure. When we use the tunnels that go through the mountains, we should be able to get everyone."

"Good." Blake said. "We have to get to the Control Center of Halo, which we think is in this area. Can you help us get there?"

"Our guns are yours. If we can gather everyone, it should be possible to retake the canyons. Or at least one." The Sergeant explained.

"That's the plan then. We'll g-"

Ruby was interrupted by the Sniper of the group, who was standing on top of a rock, watching the canyon in front of them. "Sarge! We have Covenant inbound. And they brought a Wraith!"

"Shit. Okay, gear up, Marines." The Sergeant replied.

Yang flipped the Warthog, and sat down on the turret. One of the Marines jumped into the drivers seat, and they drove off to take down the first couple of Aliens.

Ruby jumped on top of a rock, and looked at the incoming troops. She didn't know what a Wraith was, but it wasn't hard to guess. There was a big, purple vehicle with a massive cannon on its back. And, to her surprise, it was floating above the ground. Not much, but enough to look through. This thing would be a bitch to take down. Then her sight fell on two purple structures next to a rock.

At least she had seen them around Alpha Base. According to Bailey, they were scout vehicles known as Ghosts. And maybe they were enough to take down the Wraith.

She boosted off towards them, but had to jump into cover as a Shade atop the rock opened fire on her. The plasma set the tree and the bushes next to her on fire.

Suddenly, the body of a golden Elite fell on the shade, and knocked the Grunt in it out. She looked up, and guessed that her friends threw him off the bridge. With the Shade gone, she went over to the Ghosts, and jumped inside.

Ruby took a moment to look at what she assumed were the controls. She couldn't see above the front of the vehicle, but there was a projector in the display, that showed everything in front of her. She took the two joysticks in her hands. Both had a button on top, and she pressed them. Blue plasma came out of the front cannons.

After trying it out a bit, she had the controls down. One thing she had to give to the Covenant: Their controls were way more intuitive than those of the UNSC. She drove forward, and noticed a green bolt flying past her. She looked at the source, and saw the Chief. It seemed like they had left the complex, and went into battle.

Yang was driving around the rocks, shooting every Kig-Yar she could find. Among them, she even saw a Beowolf killing one. Not that the Grimm survived long. The Warthog was coming back on the open field, and they saw the massive Wraith.

Yang was scared. This thing was definitely the Covenant's version of the Scorpion. And one shot could kill them. Luckily, it suddenly shut down. The Chief ran towards it, and Yang had to admit: For his size, he was scary fast. He jumped on the Wraith, and ripped the cover of the cockpit off, only to pull out the Elite, and taking control of the mortar.

The rest of the forces started to run, but where taken down by the Sniper and mortar fire from the Chief.

With the enemies taken out, everyone gathered in the middle of the field, which mostly consisted of ice.

To Yang's surprise, Ruby was sitting inside of a Ghost. "Nice ride."

Ruby smiled. "Thanks. There's a second one, if anyone wants."

"Sure." Ren said, and went off to get it.

"They gave it their best shot, but they didn't count on the biggest squad of Marine bad-asses in the Corps!" One of the Marines cheered.

They all looked at their supply of ammo and weapons, and then decided who should take what.

One of the Marines jumped into the turret on the Wraith, and Pyrrha rode Shotgun on the Warthog. One of the Marines snatched the SPNKR away from a very dissapointed Nora, a fact Ren was more than happy with.

Meanwhile, Weiss was approaching Ruby. "Ruby? What the fuck was that?"

"I didn't want them to die. We've lost so many people already." Ruby said in her defense.

"I can understand that." Weiss replied. "But it was a reckless idea nonetheless. Who knows what could've been down here."

"Some sweet vehicles." Ruby replied. "I'd like to get you one, but they're all kind of taken."

Weiss sighed, and walked over to the Wraith of the Chief. After everyone got ready, they continued into the ravines.

After going down a small ledge, they found another burning Pelican, and a couple of Marines. And something that immediatly fell into Yang's eye: A Scorpion Tank.

Without even saying anything, she jumped off the Warthog, and climbed into the cockpit of the M808. The inside jumped to life, and lights birghtened the small room. Sure, using the Scorpion as a test, and to learn how to use it, was fun, but actually blowing up Covenant and Grimm with it was way better.

Outside, Nora immediatly took control of the Warthogs turret, and mowed down a couple of Grunts. They expected more Covenant, but where a bit glad to see the other faction on the ring: Grimm.

A good dozen Beowolfs, accompanied by some Ursa and Creeps, were coming out of a nearby cave, and caused the Marines, as well as the Covenant, to retreat. Luckily, the Covenant left behind three Ghosts, which were occupied by Marines.

One of the Marines got gutted by a Beowolf, which in turn got a bullet into the head. The barrel of the Scorpion swung around, and blew a big hole into the horde of monsters.

To their surprise, the Grunts that were left actually concentrated on the Grimm, making it easy to take them out. The Masterchief stayed back, using the Wraith as an atillery. And it did a damn good job. With their strong defense, the Grimm were taken out, with only two Marine casualties.

"That's the last of 'em- area secure." The Sergeant said. "Stand down, Team! They did their damnedest, that's for sure." He turned around to the teenagers. "That seems to be all that's left of my platoon! The Covenant are fighting their own war against the Creatures of Grimm down here. And both sides are in force."

"We can make it." Jaune assured him. "We got enough equipment, and a sizable troop. We can do this."

"Hoo-ah!"

A Marine jumped into an empty Ghost, while the others looked through the crashed pelican, stocking up on ammo, grenades and medikits. They heard a high voice, and saw a Grunt, accompanied by a Sangheili, enter their part of the ravine. A tungsten shell hit them instantly, blowing both creatures up.

"Hell yeah! Score two for me!" Yang yelled over the comms.

"Buckle up, Marines!" The Sergeant ordered. "Get on that tank!" The Marines climbed on the tread covers, and grabbed bars to not fall off. Meanwhile, Nora took Yang's place in the Warthog.

They advanced, entering another valley. Even from here, they could see another Wraith, and a couple of Ghosts. Three Shades gave cover fire from a cliff in the back. Below the middle Shade was a ramp, leading down into a tunnel.

"Aw, crap. Let's get the hell out of here, man! Somebody call the dropship!" One of the Marines yelled in panic, and tried to run. The Chief drove in his way, blocking the escape path.

"Shut up!" Another Marine yelled. "Show some backbone, amigo!" He pointed at Ruby in her Ghost. "These kids have more courage than you."

"There's no evac available anyway." Blake lied. She didn't know if there was, but she was sure that the Covenant had some kind of Anti-Air defense around the ravines. Either that, or the Grimm would bring the ship down.

The shot of the Wraith hit the ground close to them, and they saw how Grimm entered the valley over the cliff in the back. The army consisted of Ursa, Beowolf and Creeps, with an occasional Boarbatusk between.

"Okay, Marines! Time to pay back our friends for pulling your sorry tails out of the fire. Prepare to move out!"

Ruby smiled, and drove off. She concentrated on a couple of Kig-Yar, standing around a group of snow covered trees. They had their scaled hands full with a couple of Creeps, as Ruby opened fire. The plasma burned down the first Kig-Yar, and the second one turned around, only to be mauled by a Creep. She then pushed her foot down, and activated the boost. The sharp front of the Ghost cut the Creep in two, and the second one got shot.

At this moment, a Beowolf was about to jump on her Ghost, but was shot down by their Sharpshooter.

Meanwhile, Chief stayed in the back, giving attilery fire. he concentrated his fire on the Shades, but the one on top of the cliff was already overrun by Grimm.

Yang concentrated on the other Wraith, and shot her barrel at it. It made a dent in the purple armor, and the Wraith got a shot off, hitting her vehicle. It shook, and different reports of damage appeared in front of her.

"Okay, you want it the hard way, don't you?" She shot the built in machine gun at the mortar, only to finish it with a shell. It blew up in a bright, purple fireball. A satisfying feeling for Yang.

"Looks like this armor wasn't so tough after all! Let's mop up the rest of 'em!" One of the Marines yelled in excitement. They were firing on the incoming Grimm. Even if it wasn't necessarily designed to take them out, the UNSC weaponry did a good job at killing Grimm.

They saw two green shots coming out of the tunnel, ripping apart two Ursa. A pair of Hunters left the structure, and advanced, taking out Grimm as they made their way through the horde. Yang took aim, and shot.

One of the Mgalekgolo was turned into a crater, while the other one started to concentrate on her. A mistake, as the Grimm now managed to get to him. Their claws and teeth went into the unarmored parts, and ripped at the worms inside. Meanwhile, Yang took care of the enemy Ghosts.

With the Covenant gone, the Grimm concentrated on the humans. The Marines took them under heavy fire, with their Ghosts shooting holes into the monsters.

"How many are there?" The Sergeant yelled. "They seem to-"

"Griffon!" Pyrrha yelled.

The flying Grimm swooped down, and grabbed the Sergeant. Before anyone could do anything, it ripped his head off, and swallowed it. It tried to attack another Marine, but Nora shot it down with her machine gun.

Two more Griffons flew in, and one got taken out by a rocket. The other one attacked the Wraith, and went down in a hail of Plasma.

"There are too many!" One of the Marines yelled.

"Into the structure!" Cortana yelled over the comms. "If my analysis is right, there is a door we should be able to lock."

"You've heard her!" Yang said. "Let's go."

They made their way through the Grimm, and down into the tunnel. There was indeed a door, but it was closed. A holographic panel was close by. The Warthog drove up to it, and Pyrrha jumped out, opening the panel. The door opened, and everyone moved through. Pyrrha and Nora went in last, so that they could use the Warthog to secure their back.

Inside, they accessed another panel, closing the door again.

"That was close." Ruby said, and drove up to Yang. The blood of the Sergeant was still splattered on it's tread. She looked at it for a moment, and then drove off again, looking into the tunnel. It was quite wide, so that their heavy vehicles could move through easily. After a couple of turns, they arrived at a big room.

The exit was on the other side, and between them and it gaped a giant ravine, with one bridge leading over it.

And the room was full of Covenant. There were Shades stationed at little outcroppings, overlooking the ravine. Elites and Unggoy patroulled both sides, with Jackals covering the bridge. Two hunters walked around on the other side of the ravine.

"More Covenant sighted!" One of the Marines stated. "Man, these guys are like cockroaches!"

"Alien cockroaches. Armed with guns." Jaune added.

"Doesn't matter. Take them out." Nora said, and they started to wipe out the Covenant presence in the room. First the ones on their side, and then Yang and John shot the other forces across the ravine.

They made their way across the bridge, and one of the Marines opened another blast door. It led to another hallway, which ended at a slope, covered with rocks. They could already hear plasma fire from outside, meaning that either Marines, or the Covenant were fighting Grimm. Or both.

Two Marines took the Ghosts standing around, and they made their way up the slope. Since the Chief had his problems with navigating the Wraith up, Yang shot some of the rocks, opening a path.

Outside, they were in a deep ravine, with a giant rock pillar in the middle. On the left side, the Covenant forces were dug in, while the Grimm attacked from the right side. The Aliens had brought a lot of equipment. Shades were positioned on a hill, Banshees were flying around, and in the distance, a Wraith was floating on an icefield.

Once again, Masterchief and Yang stayed in the back, shooting the enemies from afar.

The others, who were now all in Ghosts or in the Warthog, were going in close. Snow, ice and rocks flew around as the shots either hit Covies, Grimm or simply the ground.

Ruby was driving next to one of the Marines, as he got hit by the enemy Wraith. After the fireball was gone, she couldn't even see any remains of him. She gritted her teeth, and shot one of the Sangheili. The plasma burned through his shields, and he went down quickly. Ruby wanted to search for any remains of the poor guy, and eventually give them a prober burrial, but there wasn't time. This wasn't just some sort of mission in a forest anymore. This was war.

The air started to smell like burned flesh and ash, as more and more wrecks got scattered across the battlefield.

Eventually, Pyrrha and Nora found a door, leading into the rock needle. It led to a small room, with a floor made out of glass. Even in here, they could still hear the explosions and shots from outside. Pyrrha made the mistake to look down, and saw that there was literally nothing under the glass. Only darkness, as a giant pit went deep into the ring.

She noticed something else though. A faint, blue reflection in the glass. It didn't take long until she figured out what it was. "Nora! Watch out!" Before the hammerwielder could react, Pyrrha threw her spear, and pinned the Sangheili to the wall. To her surprise, he was still alive.

She and Nora slowly approached him, and looked into his face. His mandibles rattled. "Go ahead. Kill me, humans. The holy ring belongs to us, and you'll perish here."

"They can talk?" Nora said.

They heard how one of the three entrances blew up, and saw that an Alpha Beowolf bursted through the door.

"Welp, time to go." Pyrrha retrieved her spear, and left the Sangheili. He stood up, and tried to ignore the pain. It was no use, however, as the Beowolf charged forward, and jumped on him, crushing his skull in it's mouth.

The two girls were already outside, and jumped back into the Warthog. "And? Did you find anything useful?" The Marine asked.

"Nope. Nothing." Nora replied, and they followed the others, who had already taken out the Wraith on the icefield.

The Covenant didn't give up this easily though. Two Hunters came in from the way leading out of the ravine, but were blown up by Yang.

"Woohoo! We showed them to not make enemies with our species!" One of the Marines yelled.

Yang took care of some more rocks, and they entered the next ravine. They were on a ledge, overlooking a frozen river, that led through a structure consisting of a couple of pillars. More surprisingly, there were still Marines here, hunted by Hunters.

"I thought the Covenant had eliminated all the Marine forces in this area." Cortana pointed out.

"Appearently not." Ruby replied. "Let's take out those hunters."

A short, easy fight later, the two Hunters were defeated, and the Marines saved. They were walking up to the group, as a buzzing sound was heard. Everyone looked up, and saw a Spirit coming in.

Yang aimed the barrel of her Scorpion up, and shot. The dropship shook under the hit, and the cannon was rendered unfunctional. The ship tried to retreat, but a rocket hit its side, breaking open one of the bays. The sitting Grunts had to hold tight to not fall out. However, after a second Scorpion hit, the Spirit went down, and crashed into the cliffs.

"Hell yeah!" One of the Marines yelled.

They turned towards the structure. The pillars made it impossible for any vehicles to get through.

Disappointed, Yang left her Scorpion behind. Her sister, however, tried to get the Ghost through the pillars, without success.

They advanced through the tunnel, and took out a stealth Sangheili along the way. On the other side, they stood inside another ravine. A small path led up a cliff, and Ruby went off to scout ahead.

She peaked over the cliff, and looked at the area. In the middle of the ravine was some sort of structure, going deep into the ground. Two bridges spanned across above her.

The Covenant had four Shades here, two at a couple of rocks, and two at the door leading out. But considering the lack of any Aliens, and the burned out wrecks of two Ghosts and a Banshee, soemthing had already taken care of them. Probably the Grimm. A suspicion that was even more likely as she spotted a group of Beowolf, searching for anything alive.

Ruby got back down, and went back to their group. "Okay, good news first: All the Covies are dead already. Bad news: There's a group of Beowolf up there. Maybe even more Grimm."

"That should be easy." Ren said, and turned towards the Marines. "If you want, you can stay down here."

"Sir, we wouldn't be Marines if we would just run at the sight of some-"

"Beowolf!" One of them yelled.

"Exactly. At the sight of some Beowolf."

"No, you idiot. Look!" He pointed on top of the small cliff, where an Alpha Beowolf was looking at them.

They opened fire, and more Beowolf arrived, backing up their Alpha. While they concentrated on the smaller ones, the Chief charged at the Alpha. He grabbed his arm, and jumped on the back of the monster. A second later, he took his combat knife and rammed it into the neck of the Grimm multiple times, killing it.

They made their way up the ledge, and took out the last couple of Grimm in the area.

"Well, that is taken care of." Nora stated. "What now?"

The Chief pointed at the door. "We'll have to get in there."

"Cortana to Fireteam Zulu. I've sent a distress signal tagged with your current position. Hold your position and await evac. The Master Chief, Team RWBY and JNPR and I are going to continue on ahead." Cortana explained.

The Marines saluted them. "Give 'em hell, guys! Fire Team Zulu, out!"

"You sure you can hold this place?" Ruby asked, seriously concerned.

"Miss, there's only one way in. We can do it."

She smiled. "Alright. Let's go!"

* * *

They entered the structure, and stood in a familiar looking hallway. It was one of those where Yang thought that the many turns in them were a bit ridiculous.

After leaving the hallway, they found themselves in another big room. Luckily, the Covenant here was sleeping, with two Sangheili patrouling around.

"Alright. I'll go ahead." Blake said, and ran off, as silent and deadly as ever. They waited until she came back, and told them that she took out everyone in the room.

They continued into another hallway, and up an elevator. As soon as it arrived at the top, a Jackal spotted them, but Yang grabbed his head, and broke the Alien's neck.

"That... Was a bit brutal." Ruby mentioned.

Yang shrugged, and they walked through the hallway into another room.

They quickly took out the Covenant resistance, and moved on, only to go outside again. They were on another bridge, and Ruby noticed that it was one of the bridges that span over the last ravine they were in.

Corpses of Grunts scattered the bridge, and judging by the scars they had, the Aliens were taken out by Griffons. However, they were able to spot two Elites and some Jackals at the other end of the bridge, which meant that the Covies managed to take the Grimm out. It didn't take long to take the platoon down, and advance back inside.

The group fought through more rooms, and ended up on the other bridge. Two hunters had managed to get on the bridge they just were on, and tried to take them out from the distance, causing the group to tak cover at the door.

"Great." Yang said. "What now?"

"We could try to run over the bridge." Jaune suggested.

"There is no other option." John agreed. "They won't show us their backs. If we're fast enough, it'll be hard for them to hit us."

"Let's go then." They started to run, and some of them used their semblance to go faster. Whenever the hunters were getting a shot in, Weiss used a glyph to block it. An action that always took a massive strain on her Aura, considering the sheer power of the shots. Along the bridge, they met some Covenant forces, which they simply threw off the bridge.

After being inside, and safe, again, they took a minute to catch their breath. Except for Chief, who was already pushing forward. The next room was filled with Grunts and two Hunters. However, even Hunters didn't stand a chance against a Spartan-II and eight huntsmen and huntresses in training.

"The resistance appears to be increasing." Cortana mentioned. "We must be close to the control room."

"You think they managed to clear out the Grimm there?" Jaune asked.

"It's a possibility. If I were the Covenant, I'd concentrate on securing the Control Center." The A.I explained. "That doesn't make it easier though."

"We'll make it." Ruby assured them.

They went into another ridiculously shaped hallway, and found themselves outside, on a stonebridge overlooking another ravine. Under them was a giant, pyramid-like building. It was completely occupied by the Covenant.

Something instantly fell into Yang's eye: Two Banshees, standing unoccupied at the ledge. Thanks to the guys at Alpha Base, she, Ren, Pyrrha and Weiss knew how to fly these things. Like most Covenant vehicles, the controls were fairly intuitive.

"Analyzing. This must be the control room. Subtle. The entrance to the Control Room is at the top of that pyramid structure. Bring me up there and I should be able to get us inside." Cortana said.

"Weiss? Can you help me with those Banshees?" Yang asked.

The heiress nodded, and they ran off. Yang charged at a Sangheili, who tried to get one of the Banshees as it saw them. The punch broke his shields, and he was thrown off the bridge. The second Sangheili tried to get into the other vehicle, but was stopped by a glyph, and also thrown off.

Both girls jumped into the Banshees, and started the Anit-Gravity generators, while their friends fought the Covenant on the bridge. Weiss turned her vehicle around, and shot plasma at a Sangheili on the bridge, taking him out in mere seconds. Ruby waved at her, before continuing her fight.

While they went back inside on the other side of the bridge, to hopefully come out at the bottom, Yang and Weiss took on the Wraith on the ground. With the arch its shots had, it was hard for the mortar to hit them, and it was finally taken down by their combined effort. They noticed that the others still weren't outside, and decided to already fly up the pyramid.

Here, they found a big blast door, and a holographic panel next to it. They jumped out of their Banshees, and Yang accessed the panel to open the door. She noticed how it felt natural to her. A feeling that went away quickly, as they were instantly shot at from inside.

Both went into cover, and Weiss started to shoot her Assault Rifle at the creatures, using short, controlled bursts to save ammo. A trick she learned from the Marines.

Yang wasn't so careful though, and walked off to a nearby Shade. She jumped in, and laid waste to the Covenant forces, until a blue ball hit the turret. She quickly jumped out, as the turret disappeared in a blue ball of plasma and fire. Through the smoke, the two saw a blue blade activating, and could already guess what was attacking them.

Weiss managed to block the first hit with Myrtenaster, but the Sangheili was a lot stronger than her. He kicked her, and Weiss flew into a couple of crates. Yang went in, and shot the Sangheili with her shotgun. It only drained his shields a bit, and he retaliated by slashing his sword across her chest. Yang grunted, and uppercutted the Elite. His head tilted backwards, and he led out an scream of pain, before slashing at her again. Suddenly, a loud 'bang' was heard, and the head of th Sangheili exploded.

Yang looked around, and saw Ruby with Crescend Rose, waving. Behind her, the others arrived, and looked at the mess. The still smoking bodies of Grunts, Jackals and Sangheili scattered around.

"You two did some nice work here." Cortana mentioned. "Now let's go. We have to get inside."

They nodded, and ran in, following the wide hallway. Whenever there was a door, one of them opened it, and closed it again when all were through. After the fourth door, they finally were in the control room.

* * *

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **Control Room**  
 **September 20; 2552**

The Room was gigantic. The whole mainbuilding of Beacon would have fitted in here. Sadly, there wasn't much to actually explore. The only walkable part of the room was the platform they were standing on. It consisted of a long, straight bridge, leading up to a terminal with multiple panels. To the sides, the platform went off, forming a giant ring. In the middle of it was the giant hologramm of a planet, with the Ring around it.

They could see oceans, rivers, hills and all other kinds of enviromnents. Some of the regions were glowing read, something that was more unsettling than it should be.

The Chief walked up to the terminal, and took a small chip from the back of his helmet. Yang guessed that this was the chip Cortana was on. He put it into the terminal. Cortana's hologram appeared on it, something the eight saw for the first time.

To their surprise, she didn't look like what they expected. After talking last night, they all agreed that she probably looks like some sort of teacher, or other autority figure. But seeing that she actually was a blue, naked woman was surprising.

Yang instantly put her hands in front of Ruby's eyes, until she realized that all the bits she didn't want her sister to see were covered by datastreams. She took her hands off again.

"You're worse than dad." Ruby muttered.

Streams of data started to flow into Cortana, and out of her, while she constantly changed color. "Are you all right?" John asked her.

"Never been better!" Cortana replied happy. "You can't imagine the wealth of information. The knowledge! So much! So fast! It's glorious!"

Jaune walked forward. "So, how does this thing work? Can you activate it?"

"Yeah." Ruby agreed. "Can it turn into another weapon?"

"Exactly. How can we use it against the Covenant." The Masterchief added.

The A.I. stared at them, as if they'd just said something completely ridiculous. "This ring isn't a cudgle, you barbarians."

"Hey!" Ruby yelled.

"It's something else... something much more important. The Covenant were right... this ring... it's Forerunner."

"What's a Forerunner?" Nora asked.

"I guess the guys that built this ring." Blake replied shortly.

"Give me a second to access... Yes, the Forerunners built this place, what they call a 'fortress world', in order to... no, that can't be." Her voice started to sound paniced.

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, those Covenant fools, they must have known, there must have been signs!"

"Okay, Cortana, calm down." Jaune said calmly. "We aren't following you. What's going on?"

"The Covenant found something, buried in this ring, something horrible, and now... they're afraid." Cortana explained.

"What did they find? Some other weapon?" Ren asked. They all started to feel scared. What could scare the Covenant?

"The Captain!" Cortana yelled out. "We've got to stop the Captain!"

"Keyes? What do we-"

"The weapons cache he's looking for." Cortana interrupted the Spartan. "It's not really- We can't let him get inside!"

"What the hell is going on here?!" Yang shouted, getting frustrated.

"There's no time. Get out of here, find Keyes, stop him! Before it's too late!" Cortana yelled, and disappeared in the terminal.

"Cortana! What's going on? Cortana!" Ruby yelled. There was no answer, and she guessed that she needed time to get used to the data.

"Let's go." Chief said, and gestured to the entrance. "Ruby, Ren, Pyrrha, Yang. You're coming with me."

"What's with us?" Jaune asked.

"You'll stay here. We can't risk Cortana, or the ring, falling into enemy hands."

"But-"

"Now!" The Chief shouted, and they ran after him, out of the Control Center, leaving behind four very confused teenagers.

* * *

 **And there's Chapter 5, the last Chapter before shit hits the fan. (Considering how the Flood looks, this could be taken literally.)**

 **Now to reply to some Reviews:**

 **Cmedina1: I don't see how he talks too much. In the books and comics, Spartans talk pretty often, and even make jokes. (In one of the comics, Chief even made a Yang-worthy pun.) Even if he wouldn't, he still has to give commandos and tips to RWBY and JNPR, and since they don't have neural implants, or know the handgestures used by the UNSC, he has to talk to them.**

 **Edrap: This is gonna be adressed in one of the next chapters.**

 **Guest: Like I already said, due to the fact that they dissolve upon death, the Grimm can't be infected. (As awesome as an flood-infected Nuckelavee would look.)**

 **red october700: Yes, some of the events will happen, or be referred too. For the examples you mentioned: Ghosts of Onyx won't play a part in here, since that would mean that one of the characters wouldn't be there for the majority of Halo 2 and 3.  
First Strike is a bit of a special case. The Assault on the Ascendant Justice will be here, but after that, they will split into two groups, one taking on the Unyielding Hierophant, and the other one trying to get directly to Earth. But even with the Assault, I don't know how much of it will be in this story, and how much will only be explained. It's harder to put a book into something like this than it is with a game.  
And yes, Zuka is going to make an appearence, but only a minor one on the Autumn. **

**Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	6. Inferi redivivus

Chapter 6: Inferi redivivus

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **Swamp**  
 **September 20; 2552**

She couldn't pin it down, but Pyrrha had a weird gut feeling the whole flight.

After leaving the Control Room again, Foehammer came back to pick them up, and flew them to the supposed weapons cache. According to their pilot, they were approaching a swampy area, not an enviromnent the girl liked. Not that there was a lot of likeable enviromnent on this ring. Most of the regions were overrun by Covenant forces or Grimm.

She didn't know if she was the only one, but Pyrrha was scared, something rare for her. They could take on the Covenant on the ground, but what if they'd get attacked by a Warship? They wouldn't stand a chance. And she didn't want to die. Not here, in this strange world. And if their plan with Halo wouldn't work, she knew that they were done for. All of them. Even the teens couldn't last that long against an Alien Empire.

"The last transmission from the Captain's dropship was from this area." Foehammer explained. "That was over twelve hours ago."

"You think he's still alive?" Ruby asked Pyrrha.

"Well, knowing Keyes, it's likely." She answered, and lied. Deep down, she was sure that he was dead. It was part of this weird feeling she had.

The bay opened, and they could see some Grunts fleeing into the deep, dark jungle. "When you locate Captain Keyes, radio in, and I'll come pick you up."

"Understood. Let's go." They jumped out, and looked around.

They found themselves in a dark, foggy swamp. Pyrrha couldn't put her hand on it. Either it was night, or the fog made the swamp that dark. The only real sources of light were the trees, some of which gave off light, and some glowing insects buzzing around.

What was worse than the darkness was the fact that it was raining. Still, the rain was warm, just as the air, so catching a cold wasn't a real concern right now.

The only other thing that was glowing were glowsticks, scattered around a crashed Pelican. They slowly approached it, and started to investigate.

"There's ammo here." Yang said, and picked up one of the boxes. "I think it's Shotgun shells." She started to fill her pockets up, while Pyrrha went into the ship with Ruby.

She heard the faint sound of a voice coming from the cockpit, and tried to open the door. It was stuck, so she used her Semblance to rip it off. The inside was empty, with a lone bloodsplatter on the seat. The voice was clear now though, and she took the radio. The transmission was constantly interrupted by static.

 _"Dropship Victor 933- Pillar of Autumn- need assistance. We are under att- attack by some new kind of hostile- isn't Covenant. Captain Keyes has been captured by Hostiles. -dug in a large structure in a swamp- We need to pull out. Please- I will set this message to repeat at- regular intervals. Dropship Victor 933, clear."_

"This is a recording." Ruby pointed out. "Chief?"

The Masterchief entered the crashed Pelican. "Did you find something?"

"Well, we've found a recording." Pyrrha said. "It sounds like Keyes was captured by Grimm."

"Could he still be alive?"

"The Grimm normally don't take prisoners, so it's either a highly-intelligent one, or a mistake by the pilot." Ruby explained. "Was there anything outside?"

"Nothing. Only some ammo and-" He was interrupted by a loud explosion, and they went outside. Smoke was rising in the distance.

Without saying anything, they went after the source, which wasn't far away. Thankfully, it wasn't Foehammer. Instead, it looked like a Spirit had crashed into the ground, and leaned up against a massive tree.

The bodies of Grunts and Jackals laid around. Ruby and the Chief turned around, as they heard some sort of faint growl from atop the cliffs. As fast as it came, it was gone again.

"According to my motion sensor, it was an ally." The Chief mentioned. "Something weird is going on here. We have to be careful."

They walked up a small hill, and plasma started flying. It seemed like the survivors of the crash had regrouped, and occupied a fallen tree. The Jackals and Grunts were quickly taken out though, and they climbed up the tree, and used it as a bridge to cross a small ravine.

At the middle of the tree, they saw a figure in the fog, and it disappeared as soon as it spotted them. From the distance, it looked roughly like a human. "Chief? Do you think ghosts exist?"

"No, I don't." John answered quickly.

"But what was-" Ruby was interrupted by the sound of an explosion, and they hurried up. As soon as they were over the next hill, they heard gunfire, and saw Grunts and Jackals fleeing out of a structure, with bullets flying around. The gunfire stopped, and the Covenant turned toward the five.

Instead of engaging them, the Covies started to flee again, and they assumed that they were scared to death.

"Maybe Keyes and his guys are still holding their ground in there." Ren suggested.

Everyone nodded, and readied their weapons, as they went inside. To their suprise, there was no one here. Only a big hole in the ground, with a panel next to it. Before even pressing it, an elevator came up from below, and stopped.

Without any other option, they stepped on, and the Chief activated the panel, causing the platform to go down.

* * *

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **Forerunner Research Facility**  
 **September 20; 2552**

As Penny opened her eyes again, her head hurt. A surprising fact, considering her unusual nature. The robot tried to access her memory banks, to see what happened last.

Last thing she remembered was getting icecream, and getting knocked out. Then, she woke up in a strange room, and someone with an impressive mustache pressed some sort of console, and everything went black again. And now she was here.

She looked around, scanning the room for anything that would help her to find out where she was. She found herself at the second layer of the room, with a couple of walkways above her. Doors were at both ends of it. There was only one door at her level, and it was watched by a strange species of birds. They were carrying round, blue shields, that seemed to be made out of pure energy.

There were also two other beings, with orange tanks on their back. Sure, Penny didn't know who, or what, they were, but why should they attack her?

She stood up, and approached them. "Salutations! Can you tell me where we are?"

The monsters turned around, and looked at her for a moment. It was now that she realized that the creatures were carrying some sort of weaponry. Without even responding, the monsters opened fire, and green bolts of plasma flew around.

Penny jumped into cover. "Hey! What are you doing?" Another bolt of plasma hit the ground next to her. Those things were obviously trying to kill her, and as much as she hated it, there wasn't another option.

Her backpack opened, and she used her swords to block the shots as she went out of her cover. The monsters seemed surprised, but continued shooting. Some quick slashes later, Penny took down all of the monsters, most of them now lacking limbs or bleeding heavily.

Without looking at the massacre, Penny tried to open the communication system built into her. "Here is Penny. Does anyone hear me? Mister Ironwood?" No one answered, not even static.

Suddenly, one of the doors at the top opened, and Penny jumped into hiding, hoping that it weren't more enemies. Her face turned into a big smile, as one of her best friends entered. "RUBY!" She ran in to hug the more than surprised teenager, and threw her on the ground.

"Penny. Air."

"Oh, sorry." Penny stood up, followed by Ruby. She now saw that she was accompanied by Yang, Pyrrha and Ren. And some sort of giant, in a green armor. He had his gun aimed at her. "Ruby, who's that?"

Ruby shook her head, and hugged the girl. "Penny! I'm so glad to see you!"

"Me too. We all thought you were dead!"

That shocked the four. "What? You thought-"

"Yeah. You just went on a mission, and never came back. The only thing they found of you were pieces of clothes and blood." Penny explained, in her usual happy tone, which creeped them out a bit.

"That's... Wow." Yang muttered. "Poor dad. He must be devastated."

Everyone led their head down, except for Ren. "And... how did you get here?" Ruby asked, still sad.

"I don't know. Someone in an icecream truck knocked me out, and then someone who looks like the guy from those chips pressed some sort of terminal. Then I woke up here."

"What?" Chief asked. He seemed to be the only one confused.

"Wait, does that mean someone found the artifact?" Ren asked. "If everyone thinks we're dead, but someone found it... This isn't good."

"This isn't a priority now." John interrupted. "We have to find Keyes."

"Keyes? What is the robot talking about?" Penny asked.

"I'm not a robot!" Chief replied. He had a bit of anger in his voice, which led them to guess that this was an often made mistake. "Keyes is our Captain, and we need him."

"I don't understand..."

"Short version: We're on a giant ring called Halo, in the middle of a war against an Alien Empire." Yang explained. "Also, we're in space."

"All right. Where is he?" Penny replied.

"You know, that's what I like about you. You don't question stuff like this." Ruby said, and Penny smiled.

"Can she fight? Like you?" Masterchief asked.

"I'm combat ready!" Penny said. "Are we fighting against those guys?" She pointed at the dead Kig-Yar and Unggoy.

"Yeah, that's the Covenant, all right." Pyrrha answered.

"Penny? Is there anything I need to know about you?" The Chief asked. "I don't want to have any accidents happen."

"Well, there's one thing..." She said. "But it's top secret."

"Penny, I think you can tell him." Ruby put a hand on her shoulder. "We aren't on Remnant anymore. And trust me, it's better if he knows."

She led out a deep sigh. "I'm... I'm a robot."

"A robot? You don't look like one." The Spartan replied.

"I was made to resemble a human. So that I could compete in the tournament, and eventually save the world." Penny explained.

"Wait a moment..." The Chief said, and walked up to Pyrrha. "You can control polarity, right?"

"Uhm, yes?"

He grabbed her shoulder, and pushed Pyrrha away from Penny. "There. Just to be sure."

"Don't worry, Mister Robot. All my electronics are perfectly shielded against any form of magnetism and EMP."

"Good." The Spartan walked over to the dead Covenant, and picked up a Needler, which he threw to Penny. "Take this. You need a weapon." He looked through the door, and checked if there was anything behind it. "It's clear."

He went through, and the five teens started to follow him. "By the way, Penny. He's not a robot. Just call him Chief. Or Masterchief."

"I'll remember to do that." They followed the Spartan through the rounded hallway, and entered the next room.

A dirty, horrible stench was in the air, and the room consisted of two levels, with no way up. They saw three Kig-Yar guarding a door, as if something could break through every second.

They opened fire, taking the Aliens out before they could even retaliate. With them gone, they started to look around the room. Ruby and Penny walked up to the middle. Judging by the glass that laid around, there was some sort of vitrine here. Dried up blood splatters were on the ground. However, due to the lack of light, and them being dried up, it was impossible to determine who's it was.

Other than that, the room was completely empty, and thus, they entered the next hallway, their weapons ready all the time.

As soon as they stepped in, they were shocked. The whole ground, ceiling and walls were covered by purple blood.

"That was a massacre..." Yang muttered.

"Maybe the Grimm attacked them?" Pyrrha guessed.

"It's possible." Ren agreed. "We have to be careful."

They walked through the hallway, and saw corpses of Grunts and Kig-Yar in a sideroom, which was blocked by chests. "By the way..." Ruby started. "Does anyone else find it weird that we haven't seen any Elites yet?"

"This is indeed strange." Penny said. "What are Elites?"

"Badass Covenant soldiers. Make up the upper ranks of their military." Yang explained. "And yes, it is weird. Maybe they didn't think this place is important enough to send Elites."

"Unlikely." The Masterchief said, and they entered the next big room. It was a room similiar to the one they found Penny in, only with no one in here. It was creepy.

The Chief gave Penny some ammo for the Needle, which he found on the ground. They passed the next hallway, and as soon as they entered the next room, someone shot at them with a Magnum.

"Don't touch me, you freaks! I won't be like you!" They saw a Marine, leaning against a wall, shooting at them. He was obviously terrified. "I'll die first! Find your own hiding place, the monsters are everywhere!"

Ruby used her Semblance to disarm him, and sat down in front of him. "Calm down. What happened?"

Instead of answering, he started to sob, and cry.

"Let him be." John said, and took the Magnum. "He's probably a rookie, and this is something that happens often to them. It's better if we go back later to get him."

Reluctantly, Ruby let go. "Don't worry. We'll get you out of here." They walked off, and saw the rest of the room.

Green mist was flowing through a glass box in the middle, and dead Covenant forces were scattered around. In the back, one of the walkways broke down, probably due to the fight that happened in here. It was good though, as it enabled them to get on the upper level.

The only open door led back into the last room, only on the upper level. Masterchief accessed a panel, and a lightbridge appeared between them and the other side of the room.

"Pretty cool, right?" Ruby saked Penny.

"This is amazing. Who built this?"

"A group known as the Forerunners. I don't know much more though." She replied, and they entered the next room. In the middle, a tunnel led down, and they entered it from the right side, and came out at a locked door.

A small keypad was attached to it, and the Chief crouched down to activate it. There was a strange noise behind them, but as nothing attacked, the Spartan turned back to the spoofer. He entered a code, and the door opened.

A dead body, which was leaning against the door, fell into his arms.

"Oh my gosh!" Penny cried out.

The Chief carried it into the room. It had five doors, two on the left, two on the right, and one in the back. However, that wasn't their concern right now.

Instead, it was all the blood that was splattered all over the place. Assault rifles laid around, and there was a single helmet on the ground. Normally, it wouldn't face them much. They had seen plenty of dead bodies over the last two days. But that was the most unsettling thing. There were _no_ bodies.

Penny approached the helmet, and picked it up. There was the name 'JENKINS' printed on the back, and the top was smashed in with a big hole. "I think I found something!"

John walked up to her, and took the helmet, only to take out a small chip, and put it in his own helmet.

"What was that?" Yang asked. There was a noise again, and she aimed her Shotgun at the entrance. Nothing came in.

"A Recorder Chip, from his helmet camera. I can't show you the footage, but I can broadcast the sound."

As he said that, a metallic music started to play.

 _"Why do we always have to listen to this old stuff, Sarge?"_ A voice said.

 _"Watch your mouth, son. This 'stuff' is your history. It should remind you grunts what we're fightin' to protect."  
_

"I know this voice." Yang said. "That's Johnson!"

 _"Hey... If the Covenant wanna wipe out that particular part of my history, that's fine by me."_

 _"Yeah, better it than us."_ A third voice added.

 _"You ask 'em real nice next time you see 'em, Bisenti. I'm sure they'll be happy to oblige."_ Johnson said angry.

 _"LZ looks clear! I'm bringing us down!"_

They heard the faint sound of a hangarbay opening, and Johnson giving commandos. _"Go, go, go!"_

The sound of a recording was heard, and they guessed that the Chief was fastforwarding the video.

Once again, Johnson was heard. _"Stay close, Jenkins!"_ Everyone looked at the helmet that was back on the ground. _"Mendoza! Move it up! Wait here for the Captain and his squad, then get your ass inside!"_

 _"Sir!"_

 _"Okay, let's move!"_

John fastforwarded again, and it sounded like part of the current conversation was missing. _"-which is weird, right? I mean... look at it. Something... scrambled the insides."_

 _"What's that? Plasma scoring?"_ Johnson asked.

 _"Yeah... I dunno. Maybe there was an accident. You know, friendly fire or something? Or maybe a Grimm attacked him."_

They heard a familiar voice, one they were more than glad to hear. _"What do we have here, Sergeant?"_

"That's Keyes!" Ruby yelled.

 _"Looks like a Covenant patrol. Badass Elite units, all KIA."_ Avery answered.

"Wait, there weren't any dead Elites on the way here..." Ren pointed out.

"Just like there aren't any dead Marines here." Pyrrha added.

 _"Real pretty... Friend of yours?"_

 _"Nah, we just met."_

Chief fastforwarded once again, and Keyes was heard. _"Right. Well, let's get this door open."_

 _"I'll try, sir... But it looks like the Covenant has worked pretty hard to lock it down."_

 _"Just do it, son!"_ Even though they didn't know him for long, they could hear that Keyes was a born leader.

 _"Yes, sir."_

They heard the sound of a door opening, and the Marines moving.

 _"I've got a bad feeling about this..."_

 _"Boy, you always got a bad feelin' about something-"_ Johnson mocked. _  
_

Suddenly, a radio transmission came through. _"-Captain, Sarge- can you hear me?!"_

 _"What's going on, soldier?"_

Whoever was on the radio was clearly in panic. _"We've got contacts - lots of 'em - but...they're not Covenant, nor Grimm... They're just tearing through us - what the?! Oh, nooooo...!"_ The last thing heard was a gurgling, terrified scream.

 _"Corporal? Do you copy, over? Mendoza, get your ass back up to Second Squad's position, and find out what the hell is goin' on."_

 _"But sir- **"**_

 _"I don't have time for your lip, soldier! I gave you an order!"_

They heard the same noise as when they were about to enter the room. _"Sarge, listen!"_

The strange noise got louder and louder. _"What is that?"_

 _"Where's that coming from, Mendoza?"_

 _"Everywhere... I don't- there!"_ An explosion was heard.

 _"Ahh...augh! Get it off! Get it off- augh!"_ They heard the screaming of a Marine. _  
_

 _"Hold still, hold still."_ There was one last scream, and then silence.

 _"Let 'em have it!"_ Johnson said, and they heard gunfire.

 _"Sergeant, we're surrounded!"_ Keyes yelled, and to everyone's shock, he actually sounded scared.

 _"God dammit, Jenkins! Fire your weapon!"_

 _"There are too many, Sarge!"_

 _"Don't even think about it, Marine!"_

 _"Yo, this is loco!"_ They heard Mendoza screaming.

 _"Get back here, Marine! That's an order!"_

 _"Jenkins!"_ Johnson yelled, and the recording stopped.

"We have to get outta here." Chief said. They heard something breaking down one of the doors. And then all hell broke loose.

* * *

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **Flood Research Facility**  
 **September 20; 2552**

The door broke down, and dozens of sacks with tentacles attached to them poured out, as if someone opened an ants nest.

Everyone readied their weapon, and laid fire down on the monsters. "What the fuck are these things?" Yang yelled, and punched one of the sacks out of the air, as it tried to jump at her.

In the distance, another door broke down, and more creatures crawled out. "I don't know!" The Chief yelled, and shot into the masses. "But they captured Keyes."

Another door broke down, and even more monsters swarmed the room. Penny opened her backpack, and swords flew out. She arranged them in a circle, and swiped them through the horde, cutting down the Flood.

"We have to get outta here!" Ruby yelled, and ran back to the door they came in. It broke down too, and more Aliens flooded the room. Amongst them were two bipedal creatures, as high as Elites. While their legs were normal, one of the arms was made out of two, long tentacles. It took a second, until Ruby realized what they were. A head with mandibles was hanging from the side, revealing them as mutated Elites. She charged forward, and cut one of them in two. The other one got blown to bits by Yang. With the way free, they left the room, but Ruby and Penny turned around again.

"Penny! Do the thing!"

Penny nodded, and led her swords circle in front of her.

"What is she doing?" Masterchief asked, and shot down another sack.

Before anyone could answer, a green light appeared in the circle, and Penny punched her fists forward. The light turned into a giant, green laser, and blew up the room they were just in. Glass broke everywhere.

"Holy-!" He shouted.

"Yeah, that's Penny for ya. Come on!" Ruby said, and grabbed Chief's arm. He nodded, and followed her up the ramps. Yang was shooting another mutated Elite, which blew a huge hole into its body.

"What are those things?" She asked, and crushed one of the sacks under her foot.

"I have a theory, and I sure as hell hope it isn't true." Ruby said, and used her semblance to throw all the enemies at a wall, and then threw a plasma grenade at them.

They went back into the room where they activated the bridge, and saw the Covenant fighting the monsters. The Chief noticed how one of the sacks jumped onto a Grunt, and dug into his torso. After that, small tentacles started to grow out of his body.

The group had to get down, since it'd be faster than going into the other room first. Everyone took a grenade, and threw it down. Multiple fireballs brightened the room, and left nothing but smoking bodies. They jumped down, and went into the next room, and started to fight their way back to the room they found Penny in.

They used some crates to get back up, and activated a light bridge, leading them back to the elevator that brought them down here in the first place. However, even this giant room was now full of the strange creatures.

Ren went into a fight with one of the big ones, and repeadedly slashed it with Stormflower. It hit the ninja with a tentacle, and Ren flew against a wall. This things packed a serious punch. Luckily, before it could attack him again, Chief took it down with a burst of fire from his AR.

As soon as the room was clear, the Masterchief accessed the panel. They heard an explosion, and saw debris belonging to the elevator, falling down the shaft.

"Well... fuck." Yang deadpanned.

"What now?" Penny asked.

"There must be another way out of here." Pyrrha said.

"She's right. Maybe a door in the other room is open."

They went back, and saw that the door in the back was broken down. The group went in, and found themselves in a room similiar to the one where they first encountered the new enemy. A couple of dead Marines were on the ground, and they used the chance to gear back up on ammo. John changed his Magnum for a Shotgun, and they entered a hallway.

Pyrrha guessed that this place was used to produce power, considering the lights that were going through the walls. They finally left the hallway again, and found another elevator. "Great. Let's go."

Everyone got on it, and the Masterchief accessed the panel. However, instead of going up, the elevator went down.

"Oh, come on!" Yang groaned.

As soon as they were at the bottom, they got shot at. To everyone's surprise, it was UNSC weaponry that was used against them. They saw new monsters, which looked like the mutated Elite's. However, they were smaller, and had a darker body. Pyrrha was able to make out a camo pattern on their legs, similiar to the pants the Marines wore. And then she saw one of the things she'd never forget: The mutilated head of a human, sticking out of the side, the face caught in an eternal scream of agony. Those things were human, at least at one point.

Now it all made sense. Why there weren't any bodies around. Those things infected their kills, and made them into their own soldiers. Considering that they could still use weapons, it seemed like they regained some of their intelligence.

Not that it mattered right now. She shot her DMR at one of the creatures, and aimed at the tentacles in the middle of the torso. If her theory was true, then this was the small creature that infected him. It exploded, and the monster fell down.

As soon as the room was cleared out, Pyrrha explained it to everyone. The Masterchief agreed, and said that he had a similiar theory. Ruby also had her suspicions, but hoped it wouldn't be true.

After taking a moment to comprehend the whole thing, they made their way into the next room, and took out even more infected. The huntresses and huntsmen used their weapons to block and bullets that came their way, much to the Chief's surprise.

They fought their way through the underground labyrinth, taking out horde after horde. It wasn't an easy task to kill the people you worked with just a couple of hours ago, but them being infected by those things, and probably being in agonizing pain, helped a bit.

Luckily, it seemed like they couldn't infect the teens and the Chief as easily. The Spartan had his shields and armor, while the kids had their Aura, something the monsters had to get through before doing anything. And even then, they still had their Semblances.

At one point, one of the small ones latched onto Yang's neck, and damaged her hair in the process. It set on fire, burning the infection form before it could do anything.

Finally, they arrived at another elevator, and accessed the panel. This time, it went up, and a transmission came through. _"This is Echo 419. Chief, Ruby, Pyrrha? Is that you? I lost your signal when you disappeared inside the structure. What's going on down there? I'm tracking movement all over the place!"  
_

"Don't worry, we're okay." Ruby answered. "We found some new kind of enemy that infects humans and Covenant. Some sort of parasite. Try to stay in the air."

 _"Understood. Call me when you need evac."_

The elevator finally reached the top, and they were happy to see more Marines. Well, Marines that weren't infected. The soldiers instantly ran to them. "Thank god you're here. We've been lost out here for hours. After we lost contact with the rest of the mission, we, we headed for the RV point, and then these... these things... they ambushed us. We've gotta get out of here."

"Don't worry. Foehammer? Is there any place you can get us?" Ruby asked over the comms.

 _"There's a large tower a few hundred meters from your current position. Find a way above the fog and foliage canopy and I can move in and pick you up."_

"Roger. We'll get there."

"Who's Foehammer?" Penny asked.

"She's a pilot. One of the best I've ever seen." Yang explained.

"Nice to see you again, Red." One of the Marines said. Ruby looked in his direction, and saw a friend of hers.

"Bailey! You're alive!"

"Sure I am. Who's the new girl?"

The leader looked at Penny. "Oh, that's Penny. She's a robot. And a friend."

"Is she as good as you?"

"Yes, she is. Trust me." John replied.

"Alright. Let's get the hell outta here!" Yang yelled, and they went outside after stocking up on ammunition.

It didn't take long for the infection to attack again, from all sides. They did their best to defend the Marines from the incoming Flood while fighting through the swamp.

At one point, Yang shot down an infected Elite that was about to kill a Marine. He looked at her. "Thanks, Ma'am."

"Don't mention it." Yang replied, and saw an infection form jumping out of the foliage, and latching onto the Marine's back. It dug it's tentacles into his spine, and tentacles started to grow out of the poor bastard. His whole body shifted and changed form like he was clay, that was to be brought into shape. Yang gritted her teeth, and blew his upper body up with her Shotgun. "I'm sorry."

Finally, they arrived at a small pond, with the mentioned tower nearby. The Flood was still attacking them, coming in from everywhere. On of the infected managed to get a grip on Pyrrha, and was about to finish her with his gun, as a yellow beam cut through the air, and instantly cut down the creature. Everyone looked at the sky, and saw strange machines closing in.

They were floating, with no signs of thrusters, and had a single, blue eye in the middle. Small arms extended from their body. Their metal was grey, but had some blue highlights. They started to attack the infection, effectively cutting them down with their beams, while ignoring the Marines.

"What are those things?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know, but they're helping us!" Pyrrha replied.

Ruby looked at Bailey, who seemingly had his problems with the monsters. This gave her an idea. "Hey, Bailey? Need higher ground?"

"It'd be useful!"

Ruby turned into rose pedals, grabbed Bailey, and brought him on the tower with her. Together, they took the monsters in their aim, and shot them down. Sadly, it looked like their guns didn't do much against them.

Suddenly, they were blinded by a bright light, and saw Pyrrha, Penny, Ren, Yang and the Chief appearing on top of the tower. In front of them, a grey ball, with a blue orb in the middle, floated down. It looked like some sort of floating eyeball.

"Greetings. I am the Monitor of Installation 04. I am 343 Guilty Spark." It said in a cheery voice.

"Uhm, hello. We come in peace?" Yang said, unsure what to respond.

"Someone has released the Flood. My function is to prevent it from leaving this installation. But I require your assistance. Come. This way."

"Wait, what do you-" Before Ruby could even finish her sentence, the thing teleported her, Yang, Pyrrha, Penny, Ren, John and Bailey away, leaving the Marines and sentinely to fight for themselves.

* * *

 **And there's Chapter 6. The first appearence of the Flood, and the arrival of a new ally. Just to be clear, Penny is the only one that will actually join the from Remnant, at least for now. I thought it would be a good idea to have a robot around.**

 **It wasn't easy to catpure the atmosphere of the level, but I hope I did it justice. Also, while writing it, I realized that the library is next, and I have to play the level mulitple times, as well as finding a way to make it interesting.**

 **Now to replies:**

 **Plasma Dragon 312: Like I already said, it will go to Halo 4, but I'm not sure about H5G yet, since I'm don't know how the end of Halo 4 will change.**

 **Bishop: See last reply. And yes, they'll join the UNSC. (They kinda already did.)**

 **Edrap: Well, that's the thing. It isn't possible to save everyone, but Ruby hasn't accepted that fact yet.**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	7. Reading Room

Chapter 7: Reading Room  


 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **The Library**  
 **September 20; 2552**

Ren had to admit, this time the teleporting wasn't as bad as last time. At least they didn't pass out. And if they had, it would've ended horrible, considering the new threat that just showed its ugly head. Or tentacles.

However, he wasn't sure yet if they could trust their supposed ally. The flying orb didn't say much yet, but he teleported them here without even asking. And there was this feeling he had about him.

And this 'Flood' wasn't a small problem either. At this point, they were aware that they infected other beings, making them into their own. A horrifying thought, really. But luckily, their Aura kept them save. Still, he was scared if Nora and the others were okay. They were still at the control room, and, as far as they knew, it could've already been overrun by Covenant, Grimm, or the Flood. Even more of a reason to get through this new place. Wherever that was.

They were inside a giant structure, in a wide, open hallway. Vents stuck out of the wall here and there, and an orange glow was visible to their right, where the wall was small.

In front of them was Spark, levitating in the air. "We must collect the Index before we can activate this installation."

"Activate? Why?" Ruby asked.

"To destroy the Flood, of course. It is the highest priority to not let them escape this ring." He answered, in an extremely cheery voice.

"But-"

"Hey, we've got company!" Bailey interrupted, and pointed at the distance. Some sort of walking balloon was waddling towards them.

"That thing looks ridiculous." Ruby deadpanned. "I mean, seriously. What's it gonna do?"

Suddenly, it laid down on the ground, and exploded. A dozen Infection Forms came out.

"I should just shut my mouth." Ruby said, and aimed. However, they were already gone with one swing of Penny's swords.

"Remarkable. You seem to be highly effective." Spark commented.

"We got experience with hordes." Ren explained, and they started moving.

After fighting more Flood along the way, Spark flew over the small wall, and they followed through a tunnel, leading into a big, central chamber. Above them was a blue glowing platform. "The energy field above us contains the Index. We must get up there."

"Ruby? Can you use your Semblance?" The Chief asked, and crushed an Infection Form under his boot.

"I can try." Ruby crouched down to gain a bit more momentum, and jumped, before turning into rose pedals. She came a couple of meters high, before coming down again. "Nope. It's too high. Dumb gravity."

"Interesting powers." The Monitor said.

They left the chamber, and went into another hallway, similiar to the one they were just in. After fighting their way through, they eventually arrived at a big door, with holographic signs in the middle. "The security doors have sealed automatically. I will go access the override to open them." Spark explained, and went into a vent next to the door.

Of course, more Flood forms came from everywhere, pinning the group's back to the door. Thankfully, none of them came far under the combined fire of them, and the door opened behind them. "Please, follow closely. This portal is the first of ten."

"Oh god no." Yang muttered. "Please tell me nine of them are directly behind each other.

"I'm afraid not. Admittedly, my creators had a habit for building their structures massive." The Monitor explained, and flew away, followed by the humans.

More Flood attacked, but were dealt with, while Spark, once again, started to talk. "Puzzling. You brought such ineffective weapons to combat the Flood, despite containment protocols."

"Hey, we didn't know that we'd fight zombies." Bailey yelled. "And what protocols?"

They saw Penny clearing the hallway with a laser beam. "I'll take it back. This synthetic lifeform is highly effective."

"She's a robot?" Bailey asked.

"Yeah." Ruby answered, and grabbed an Assault Rifle from the ground. She wiped off the bits of Flood on it, and gave it to Bailey. "I think this'll be more effective."

"Right. Hey, Spark? Why are our Snipers so, you know, shitty?"

"Well, they are mostly rotten flesh, and it appears your rifles are meant to penetrate targets at a high distance. They just travel through, without doing much damage. You have to consider that the Flood does not rely on any vital organs, except for the Infection Form in the middle."

"Thanks. That's... actually really helpful." Pyrrha said, and shot down another infected.

"And what happens if they escape?" The Chief asked, and put his back against Yangs. A couple of Infected closed in, but the two covered all sides.

"They consume all." Spark answered. "You can see how the body has been transformed by the genetic restructuring of the Flood infection. The small creatures carry spores that cause a host to mutate. The mutated host then produces spores that can pass the Flood to others. It is insidious and elegant. As long as any hosts remain, the Flood is virulent."

"Yeah, they're parasites. We already know that." Yang said, and blew a huge hole into a mutated Elite. "But I doubt they'll manage to infect everyone. Not as long as we're here."

They continued, taking out Flood left and right. Bailey tried to stay in the middle, since he was the only one that could be infected easily. It was a bit embarassing to be guarded by children, but in this situation, he was okay with it.

After getting into another, long hallway again, Yang looked at the vents. "Hey, Spark? Are those vents important?"

"They get fresh air in here, but one is enough." A carrier form jumped out of one, and was shot out of the air, realeasing more Infection Forms. "I see what you mean. Destroying them could hinder the Flood. If you have the firepower, go ahead. They can be easily repaired, once this whole mess is over."

Yang stared into the vent. She couldn't see an end, and wondered just how deep they were underground. "Do I have the firepower?"

"Highly doubtful. We must continue. This way." He flew away, and they followed him. "This installation's research facilities are most impressive! Maybe we'll have time to see them later."

"When we aren't kneedeep in dead aliens, then sure." Ruby answered sarcastically.

"I'd love to see them!" Penny said, and cut down more Flood.

They entered another hallway, and saw a opening on the other end, with an orange glow. Yellow beams cut through the air, taking out Flood, which fought against the sentinels. "These sentinels will supplement your combat system. But I suggest you all upgrade to at least a Class Twelve combat skin. Your current model only scans as a Class Two, which is ill-suited for this kind of work. Not to mention the inappropriate clothes of the other humans."

"Hey!" Ruby yelled. "It's a combat skirt!"

No one reacted to it, and they went into the orange glowing room, finding themselves on an elevator. Spark flew up. "Pardon me. A plasma conduit breach in Section 5-5-2-4 has disrupted power flow to a gravity maintenence assembly. Repairs require my attention. I will return soon." With that, he was gone, leaving the seven alone on the elevator.

As soon as it was on the second level of the facility, he already returned. The next hallway was full of Flood too, but nothing they couldn't handle.

"So, Ruby?" Bailey started. "Why are you doing this?"

Ruby sliced a Floodform in half with her scythe. "What?"

"Fighting. You're only fifteen, this doesn't seem like something one would do at that age."

"Well, my Mom was a huntress, my Dad is a huntsmen, and the job is just so cool. And thanks to them reading me fairytails every evening, I wanted to be just like the heroes in these books."

"All right. Sounds reasonable. I think."

"And what's with you? Is there a reason why you joined the UNSC?"

"Well, my brother and my sister both went out to fight the Covenant as soon as they were old enough. However, it was a bit harder for me. I just didn't want to stay at the sidelines, and watch them burning down planet after planet. My parents though, they didn't share the my opinion. You see, before the Covenant attacked, there was a Civil War, between the UNSC and the URF. My parents were part of the latter." He shot down three Infection Forms with his AR. "Although most of the Insurrectionists joined forces with the UNSC to fight of the Aliens, some stayed with their ideology. Just like my parents. They forbid me to enlist, so I ran away, and joined the UNSC. After basic training, I was put on Sigma Octanus IV, and then transferred to Reach. During the battle, I was placed on the Autumn, and well, you know the rest."

"Are your parents still alive?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know. The UNSC lost contact with my home a couple of months ago. But I'm sur-" He looked up, as the Monitor interrupted him.

"Flood activity has caused a failure in the drone control subsystem. I must reset the backup unit. Please, continue on. I will rejoin you when I have completed my task."

"Can he stay here for more than two minutes?" Yang asked.

They arrived at another locked door, and had to hold their ground again. Luckily, as long as the Flood came from one direction, it was fairly easy, since they went down quickly. Sometimes, Ruby had to use her semblance to go in and quickly collect some ammo for them, a task Pyrrha helped with.

The Sentinels were a great help too. Their energy beams took out the Flood like it was nothing, a fact that led them to believe that the drones were specifically designed to deal with the infection.

Finally, Spark returned, and opened the door, which lead into another hallway. "The Sentinels can use their weapons to manage the Flood only for a short time. Speed is of the essence."

"Says the one who's always flying off?" Yang mentioned.

It seemed like the Monitor didn't care about the jab, and they continued. In the hallway, a rocket flew past them. The Chief had managed to dodge it in the last moment. "Great. A zombie with a Rocket Launcher." Ruby said, and charged forward. With the help of her semblance, she took the Flood out, making the way forward save. However, she could already see the next door, and the Sentinels flying to the middle of the room, and disappearing.

The door opened a bit, and Spark followed the Sentinels. "Please wait here."

"Okay, fuck this thing." Yang said angry, and her hair started to burn a bit. "It always abandons us!" They saw Infection forms coming through the opening in the door. "Seriously?"

They held them off until Spark came back, and opened the door completely, leading into another hallway, which in turn led into a small tunnel, filled with carrier forms. They took them out from a safe distance, and then killed the Infection Forms in a hail of Assault Rifle fire. Thankfully, the fact that the Flood was using UNSC weapons meant that there wasn't a shortage of ammo here.

As soon as they were out of the tunnel, it led into another hallway. It was getting annoying.

"Your enviromnent suit should serve you well when the Flood begins to alter the atmosphere. You are a good planner. For the children though, I hope you got enough fresh air to use." Spark mentioned.

"Wait, alter the atmosphere?" Pyrrha asked. "How is that possible?"

"Releasing spores. The Flood is highly effective at infecting everything." The Monitor explained. "Life forms, even planets. The only way to get rid of an infection completely, is to eliminate the entire system."

"That's insane!" Ruby yelled. "How are we supposed to beat that?"

"Well, this installation was well conceived. It is surely the only way to end the Flood threat." Spark replied, still cheery.

"Then let's hurry up, and get the Index." The Chief said, and shot down another Floodform.

They arrived at the next elevator, and ride it up to the third floor, which looked just like the others. They started to fight their way throught the Floodhordes, with the aid of Spark's Sentinels.

"I would conjecture that the other species currently on the Installation is repsonsible for releasing the Flood. They seem most persistent in their attempts to access restricted areas."

"Wait, do you mean the Covenant or the Grimm?" Ren asked.

"The Covenant. I'll admit, their determination is quite admirable. At least they didn't damage the Installation." Spark said. "The Grimm on the other hand. Sadly, my records about them are lacking. I only have a small amount of information, and even they are mostly assumptions."

"How do you have data about the Grimm?" The Chief asked.

"I have to admit, I don't know where they come from. My creators put them into my databanks, but I have limited any access to information not regarding this Installation. It is quite a shame. But if I had to guess, I'd say that they encountered them during their travels." Spark explained.

"I still can't believe the Covenant was idiotic enough to release these things." Yang said. Another rocket flew past her, and they eliminated the source with their weaponry.

"Why naturally the Flood is too dangerous to release, and mass sterilization protocols may again need to be enacted. Of course, samples were kept here after the last catastrophic outbreak... for study. It seems... that decision might have been an error."

"Oh, you think?" Bailey commented. "Why did those Forerunners keep samples anyway?"

"Oh, that is easy to answer. They knew that the Flood might return one day, and wanted to find a cure. However, the efforts are still in vain."

"That actually sounds logical. The execution was terrible though." The Marine replied.

"Yes, the research stations had some problems, which I of course tried to solve. I think you can see the results."

Yang shot down another Floodform with her Shotgun, and reloaded. "Yeah, we can see it."

They fought through hordes of Flood, and passed more locked doors, until they finally reached the next, and final, elevator. "The Flood are already hard at work repairing your vessel. Its parasitic nature belies the Flood's intelligence."

The elevator arrived at the top, and they went back to fighting the Infection. "You mean they are repairing the Autumn?" The Chief asked.

"Precisely. When they manage to do that, I fear all could be lost."

"We can't let that happen." Pyrrha said.

they fought their way to the last door, which Spark unlocked. A giant horde of Flood came through, the biggest one they'd seen until now. Pyrrha threw her shield, and guided it through the masses with her semblance, using it as a giant knife. Penny did a similiar thing with her swords, and with the firing assistance of Ruby, Bailey, Ren, Yang and Masterchief, a big hole was blown into the army. They used the opening and went through, going into the middle of the room, where the Index was resting.

They moved in a turtle formation, and eventually reached the middle. "The energy barrier surrounding the Index will deactivate when we reach the ground floor." The platform they were on started to shake heavily, and descended into the dephts. They took care of the couple of Floodforms still on the elevator, until it reached the lowest level. "You may now retrieve the Index. Penny, could you do that please?"

"What? Why me?"

"Everyone else here is capable of being infected by the Flood. Keeping the Index in the hands of an synthetic lifeform is required by protocoll." Spark explained.

"All right." She slowly moved up to the Index, as the locks around it disappeared, leaving behind a grey, 'T'-shaped obejct with a green glow. She took it into her hands, and looked at it.

"The Flood is spreading! We must hurry!" Spark said, and teleported them away from the hell they just went through.

* * *

 **And Chapter 7. Well, that was a thing. I decided to make this one less action orientated, since it's nearly impossible to write interesting combat against a horde of Flood, and made it more dialogue driven, since Spark already told some important information about the Flood in the level, and it was a perfect opportunity to give Bailey a bit of backstory.**

 **Also, little fact, one of the ideas I had for this chapter was Bailey getting infected by the Flood in front of Ruby, and she would have to take him down. An idea that I scratched, since it would have been a bit too much for Ruby at this point, and I decided that it was better to have Bailey around for a bit longer.**

 **Now to replies:**

 **Plasma Dragon 312: Well, that they aren't alone certainly is a big factor. However, they also haven't fully realized the whole thing about the Flood yet, since they didn't have any room to breathe.**

 **rocketmce: Yes, the idea is planted now. Let the crack ships flow! Seriously though, the only ships I might consider are Rennora and Arkos.**

 **Edrap: I think if they were to produce an army of Pennys, it would take longer than the rest of the war. However, ONI will of course be interested in Penny, but won't brake her apart, since she is too much of an important asset, and the whole Aura thing makes it hard to do that, just like surgery. For your second question: This is something that will happen in the next chapter.**

 **.549: It wasn't that bad. I put on the bandana skull for this. But still, thanks for the helping words.**

 **red october700: Well, I'm not playing it on legendary for this, but on normal. Even on legendary, I actually found myself having more problems with the Level Cortana in Halo 3. In HCE, I mostly stayed in the back and shot them with my Magnum, or ran through when possible. But thanks for the condolences. About what the others are doing in the meantime: Looking at the holographic Halo, playing games on their scrolls, eating and training.**

 **A fan: If you look closely, the lock around the Index in Halo 2 was actually missing, which I guess is due to Pentient Tangent being captured and rampant, along with the library on Delta Halo being in shamples. But even if, the dialogue of Spark is pretty important to the characters realizing the danger of the Flood.**

 **Guest: Look at my reply to red october.**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	8. Sudden, but inevitable betrayal

Chapter 8: Sudden, but inevitable betrayal

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **Control Room**  
 **September 21; 2552**

Weiss, Blake, Jaune and Nora had enough of waiting. They had used the time since the othes left to train a bit, play with their scrolls, or study the holograph of the ring. They noticed that the red sections were spreading. Worst of all, even Cortana didn't talk to them. Weiss guessed that she needed time to comprehend the flow of information from the Ring's networks.

Nora thought that it may indicate were the Grimm were. If she had to be honest, she had fun the last two days. It was a blast to fight the Covenant, especially with weapons like Rocket Launchers and vehicles. She had hopes that one day, she could use something even more powerful, like some sort of giant death laser.

But the boredom was still getting the better of her right now. That was, until the others came back with two new arrivals. "Ren!" She hugged her childhood friend, who smiled and petted her head. The girl noticed the stench Ren had. "Man, you need to take a shower."

"Hey, you're back." Blake said, and looked at Penny. "Wait, what's she doing here?"

"She got transported here too." Ruby explained, and pointed at Spark. "And this is 343 Guilty Spark. He helped us."

"Okay, a floating tennis ball." Weiss muttered. "Did you find Keyes?"

"Well-" Yang was interrupted by Spark.

"Shall I remind you that we don't have much time?"

"Right." Ruby said. "Penny? Can you give me the Index?"

The robot nodded, and gave her the object. Ruby walked up to the console. "Okay, here we go. Is it okay if I do that?" She asked the Monitor.

"Of course. Units with my classification are not allowed to perform such a crucial task as reuniting the Index with the core. That final step is reserved for you, Reclaimer."

The other four looked at each otherin confusion. Ruby took a deep breath, and put it into the appropriate slot in the console. Hologramms appeared above it, but then faded again.

"Odd. That wasn't supposed to happen." Spark pointed out, and floatet forward.

A female voice was heard, and Cortana appeared above the console. "Oh, really?" She sounded angry.

A flash of light brightened the room, and Spark was thrown back. "Cortana! What are you doing?" Pyrrha asked, and ran to Spark's aid.

"I've spent the last 12 hours cooped up in here, watching you today about, helping that thing to slit our throats!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Yang asked. "He is our ally, even if he disappeared from time to time."

"Oh! I didn't realize. He's your _pal_ , is he? Your _chum?"_ Cortana turned towards Ruby, who stared angry at her. "Do you have any idea what that bastard almost made you do?"

"Yes... activate Halo's defenses, and destroy the Flood." The Chief spoke up. "Which is why we brought the Index to the Control Center."

"Flood?" Jaune muttered confused.

"You mean this?" Cortana held up a hand, and the Index appeared above it.

"A construct? In the core?! That is absolutely unacceptable!" Spark said angry, now that he got back up.

"Sod off!"

"What impertinence! I shall purge you at once!"

"You sure that's a good idea?" Cortana absorbed the Index, much to Spark's annoyance.

"How... how... how dare you! I'll-"

"Do what? I have the Index! You can just float and sputter!" Cortana replied.

"ENOUGH!" Ruby, Chief and Yang yelled. Ruby tried to hold Spark away from Cortana.

"The Flood is spreading. If we activate Halo's defenses, we can wipe them out." The Spartan explained.

"You have no idea how this Ring works, do you? Any of you? Why the Forerunners built it? Halo doesn't kill the Flood, it kills their food. Humans, Covenant, Faunus, Animals. All are equally edible! The only way to stop the Flood is to starve them to death. And that's exactly what Halo is desgined to do: Wipe the Galaxy clean of all higher lifeforms. You don't believe me? Ask him!"

Everyone turned around towards Spark. "Is she right?" Jaune asked.

He paused for a moment. "More or less. Technically, this Installation's pulse has a maximum effective radius of twenty-five thousand light years. But, once the others follow suit, this galaxy will be quite devoid of life, or at least any life with sufficient biomass to sustain the Flood." He turned to face the Chief directly. "But you already knew that... I mean, how couldn't you?"

"Left out that little detail, didn't he?" Cortana asked from behind them.

"We have followed outbreak containment procedure to the letter. You were with me each step of the way, as we managed this crisis." Spark explained, and for the first time, he sounded angry.

"I'm picking up movement!" Cortana pointed out.

"Why would you hesitate to do what has to be done?"

"We need to go, right now!" Cortana yelled.

Behind Spark, eight Sentinely flew up, and 'looked' at the group. Everyone readied their weapons. "Last time, you asked me, if it were my choice, would I do it? Having had considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed."

John reached behind him, retrieved Cortana from the console, and put her chip into his helmet. "There is no choice. We must activate the ring." Spark insisted.

"But this would wipe out everyone!" Ruby said.

"If you are unwilling to help, I will find simply another. Still, I must have the Index. Give your construct to me, or I will be forced to take her from you."

"That's not going to happen." Chief replied, and aimed his Assault Rifle at the Monitor.

"So be it. Save their heads, dispose of the rest." He teleported away, and the Sentinels opened fire. Everyone managed to dodge the beams, and Blake left behind a Shadow Clone, to confuse the drones.

Penny led her swords out, and held them up in the air. Energy beams left them, and shot at the Sentinely, which managed to dodge them. Pyrrha tried to control them via her Semblance, but it seemed like the metal they were made out of was not magnetic, or their thrusters, or whatever held them in the air, were too strong.

Jaune blocked a beam with his shield, and tried to shoot one with his Magnum. The bullets bounced off, and he noticed that the machines possessed an energy shield. "Dammit! We can't hurt them!"

Another set of beams cut through the group, and hit Nora's leg. It hurt, and took off a huge junk of Aura. "We need something else!" The Masterchief said, and looked around. He noticed a pile of Covenant weapons, stacked to their right. "What are they doing here?"

"Right. Nora and Jaune collected them outside a couple of hours ago, in case we ran out of ammo." Weiss explained. "You think they'll work?"

"It's worth a try." Bailey said, and the three ran towards the weapons.

Meanwhile, Penny had taken her Needler and fired at one of the Sentinels. To her surprise, the pink needles actually dug into it, and exploded, destroying its shield. A second barrage, and the robot exploded in a blue ball of plasma and energy, and molten metal fell to the ground, along with the burned out hull of the Sentinel. "I got one!" She yelled out, and saw blue bolts flying towards one of the machines.

They hit, and broke the shield nearly instantly, with the next shots taking out the robot. She looked towards the source, and saw John, Bailey, Weiss and Nora, armed with Covenant weapons.

"Everyone! Take a Plasma Weapon! They work better!" Nora yelled, and everyone took a weapon, only to opened fire on the Sentinels. Moments later, the robots were taken care of.

"Ugh. That was a pain in the ass." Weiss said. "What now?"

"We can't let the Monitor activate Halo. We have to stop him." Cortana said.

"And how? He's, like, the supreme ruler of the Ring." Yang pointed out.

"We destroy Halo." Jaune suggested. "That way, we can make sure that it never fires, and that the Flood dies out. Whatever they are."

"This could work." The A.I. agreed. "According to my analysis of the available data, I believe the best course of action is somewhat... risky. An explosion the sufficient size will help destabalize the ring, and will cut through a number of primary systems. We need to trigger a detonation on a large scale, however. A star ship's fusion reactors going critical would do the job. I'm going to search what's left of the Covenant's battlenet, and see if I can locate the _Pillar of Autumn's_ crash site. If the ship's fusion reactors are still relatively intact, we can use them to destroy Halo."

"Sounds like a plan." Ruby said.

Nora bumped her fist into the air. "Yeah! Let's blow up a giant ring, planet, weapon thingy!"

"We first have to get out of here." Blake pointed out. They nodded, and walked up to the panel at the entrance.

The blast door opened, revealing a troop of Covenant coming their way. However, they got intercepted by a group of Sentinels. They waited until the battle was over, and took out the remaining Covenant forces, before making their way back outside.

* * *

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **Frozen ravine system, near the Control Center**  
 **September 21; 2552**

It was nighttime, and snow was falling from the sky. They were able to see one or two lone Griffons flying around, and a couple of Grunts walking around before the entrance to the Control room. After they took care of the Unggoy, Cortana was starting to talk again.

"I haven't located the crash site yet but we need to buy some time, in case the Monitor or his Sentinels find a way to activate Halo's final weapon, without the Index. The machinery in these canyons are Halo's primary firing mechanisms. They consist of three pulse generators that amplify Halo's signal, and allow it to fire deeper into space. The power levels are enormous. I can't even begin to calculate the pulse's range. So, if we damage or destroy these generators, the Monitor wil need to repair them before Halo can be used. That should buy us some time. I'm marking the location of the nearest pulse generator with a nav point. We need to move in and neutralize the device."

"Uhm, we don't have a way to see any nav points." Weiss replied.

"I do!" Penny said.

"Why do you have one?" Jaune asked the robot.

"'Cause she's a robot, silly." Nora replied.

"How do you know that?" Ruby asked her friend.

"Come on, it's obvious."

"Yeah, it is." Cortana agreed. "And a quite impressive one at that. Especially her A.I."

"Anyway." Bailey interrupted. "As far as it seems, I, the Chief, and Penny have Nav points, so you should stay close to us."

"Good idea." Jaune said. "Where's the first generator?"

Bailey pointed at a balcony, sticking out of a cliff in the distance. "There. I think we need a Banshee."

"Okay, let's search for one." Yang replied, and everyone nodded.

They fought their way down the pyramid, which was overrun by the Covenant. It seemed like they took the structure back, and probably the canyons in the area. When they arrived at the bottom, the group saw a Wraith in the distance, and the wanted Banshees. However, there were only two of them, and after a small discussion, they decided that Weiss and Chief should go, while the others would use the tunnels to get on the stone bridge above them.

While Chief and Weiss made a brake for the vehicles, Nora and Pyrrha took on the Wraith. They dodged its shots until they were close enough, and Nora jumped on top. She ripped off the cover, and grabbed the Sangheili inside by the neck, before throwing him out. He tried to get up, but his head exploded, as a sniper round hit it. Ruby waved, and they made their way to the tunnels.

The two flew up to the balcony, and shot down the Grunts and the Sangheili that were guarding it, before landing their Banshees on the object. After making sure that all the enemies were dead, they moved inside, and through the tunnel, until they reached a bigger room. The was a big spike in the middle, with a energy beam going through it.

"That's the pulse generator. The center core is the signal amplifier. That's what we need to shut down. We need to interrupt the pulse generator's energy stream. I've adjusted your shield system, so that it will deliver an EMP burst to disrupt the generator, but you'll need to walk into the beam to trigger it. The EMP should neutralize the generator. But it will also drain your shields, and leave you vulnerable until the recharge."

"Don't worry, I'll cover our back." Weiss assured, and drew Myrtenaster. "Go on."

The Spartan nodded, and stepped inside the amplifier. A burst of energy came out, and the machine shut down. "Objective accomplished! The pulse generator has overloaded. Scanning... the generator's central core is offline. Well done."

"Okay, can we get out of here then?" Weiss asked. In that moment, the door opened, and a small group of Sentinels flew in. Weiss used a Glyph to crash one of them into another one, and both exploded in a ball of fire and molten metal. The other two robots concentrated on the Chief, but Weiss blocked their beams with a glyph. The Spartan retaliated with a barrage of Plasma from a rifle, and shot the two Sentinels out of the air.

The three left the structure again, and got back into their Banshees. They saw that the others were already on the bridge and engaging Covenant troops. To their dismay, there wasn't any time to help them, as the two Griffons attacked them. Weiss turned her Banshee around, and shot a bomb at the Griffon. The resulting explosion ripped the Grimm apart.

The Chief attacked the other Griffon, and shot it down with Plasma. After that, the two landed on the bridge.

"Did you do it?" Penny asked.

"We did. Listen, we have to overload them with an EMP. So, if we find the next one, grab a Plasma Pistol and shoot it." The Chief explained.

"Okay, got it." Blake said.

They went in, and fought their way back through the tunnels, until they reached the second big room. As they were about to enter, an infected Elite attacked them, but was killed quickly.

"What was that thing?" Nora asked.

"That would be the Flood." Bailey explained. "Appaerently, they are some sort of parasite, that infects Elites, Humans, everything."

"That's... concerning." Weiss replied. "And horrifying."

"At least they are easy when they're alone." Yang said. "It's the big groups you have to look out for. Also, there are these small forms, that try to latch onto you and infect you. If that happens, try to shake them off or cry for help."

"Okay. I'll remember to do that." Jaune said.

"One last thing." The Chief added. "Their weakspot are the tentacles sticking out of the body. That's where the infection form resides."

They took out the rest of the troops in the room, which consisted of Covenant fighting against the Flood themselves. They noticed that, sometimes, the Covenant was concentrating on the Flood rather than them, a welcome fact.

Eventually, they came back to the two bridges. Their side was held by the Covenant, while the other one was held by the Parasite. Griffons were in the air, and picked off Covenant forces, as well as Flood. From time to time, Flood jumped over the gap, and got shot down, or carried away by the Griffons.

One of the Grimm landed in front of them, but a Floodform latched onto its neck. The monster struggled, and fell down, as it rammed its tentacles into the spine of the Griffon. It evaporated, and left the surprised Flood behind, which got shot by Weiss. "At least we know that the Grimm can't get infected."

"One last thing to worry about." Nora mentioned. "Then again, it would mean less Grimm."

"I'd rather fight oversized animals than an interstellar parasite." Yang pointed out.

They fought across the bridge, and through the next tunnels, only to come back out on the other one. Two Banshees had joined the battle, and shot down the remaining Flood and Griffons.

Deciding not to engage here, the group ran across the bridge. As soon as they were back inside, Penny used her giant laser to destroy the door, and keep the Flood out.

Eventually, they came to the elevator that would take them down into the canyon. Even though they had to cuddle up, they fit on the small platform. However, as soon as it started to descend, dozens of Infection forms came in from the top. Chief took out a grenade, and looked at Ruby. She understood his plan, and he threw it into the air, where Ruby sniped the grenade. The resulting fireball killed the infection.

After fighting through another room filled with Flood, and stocking up on ammo from the dead corpses, they left the structure, and found themselves out in the canyon, once again occupied by the Covenant. It seemed like they had driven out the terrestrial Grimm.

The Covenant presence here was strong though. They saw a Wraith in the distance, a Banshee in the air, and an Elite driving a Ghost. And that didn't count the infantry. Even worse, all the Aliens opened fire instantly. Nora guessed that they knew of their presence thanks to Penny's laser. As Nora looked up, she saw that it nearly destroyed the bridge.

In front of them was an overturned Ghost. Ruby flipped it over with the help of Yang, and jumped in. "I'm gonna take care of the Wraith. Take out the rest!" With that she drove off. Nora saw how Ruby drove in circles around the Wraith, while keeping it under fire.

The other Ghost closed in, and she prepared her hammer, before jumping, and letting her hammer down on the vehicle. It flipped, and Bailey shot the Elite as he flew out. Ren instantly took the Ghost, and started to shoot the Covenant forces.

Suddenly, a huge, blue fireball was visible. Ruby managed to destroy the Wraith, leaving behind a burning wreck. With the artillery taken care off, they concentrated on the Banshee, which went down fast, and crashed into a cliff.

They all rejoined at the cliff leading down to the tunnel. "Let me guess: I have to leave my Ghost?" Ruby asked.

Everyone nodded, and she left her vehicle with a loud sigh. The small army went back into the next ravine, where they found a Warthog. Yang and Nora flipped it over, and Ren went into the driver seat. Yang jumped on the turret, while Pyrrha rode Shotgun. "We'll drive ahead."

"Do that!" Jaune agreed, and the three drove up the ramp.

They went into the next canyon, and drove by a pair of Hunters. Figuring that their friends would have an easier time to kill them, they left the Lekgolo behind, and engaged a Wraith instead. Ren drove around the Mortar, which was made harder by the ice, while Yang took it under heavy fire. Eventually, it went down, and they arrived at a couple of Banshees. Pyrrha activated her radio, while Ren and Yang took out the local Covenant, including a Banshee. "Hey, here's Pyrrha. We've found two Banshees. Is the next generator close by?"

 _"Cortana here. It is right above you. Take a Plasma pistol, and blow it up."_

"Understood." Pyrrha deactivated the radio, and jumped out, followed by Yang. "Ren! Try to regroup with the others."

He nodded, and drove away, while the two girls jumped into the Banshees. They steered up, until they were above the giant stonepillar. The Covenant had put up Shades on top. However, due to their slow firing rate, the turrets were dealt with quickly. Still, there was another problem.

"Uhm, which entrance is the right one?" Yang asked over her comm. There were two balconies here.

Pyrrha's Banshee turned towards one of the balconies, which was guarded by an Elite, a Grunt, and a Jackal. _"I'd guess this one."_

They approached it, and shot down the small Covenant force, before landing. Pyrrha picked up the pistol of the Jackal, and they went inside, where they found a horde of infected Elites and Humans fighting a group of Sentinels. They decided to wait, until the Flood finally won. Pyrrha threw her shield, and guided it through the horde, cutting them down effortlessly, while Yang secured her back.

With the resistance dealt with, Pyrrha overloaded the pistol, and shot at the spire in the middle of the room. The weapon got extremely hot, to a degree that Pyrrha nearly dropped it. However, the explosion from the middle suggested that it worked.

"We got it. Now let's go."

Yang nodded, and they went for the way out, while Flood was coming in through vents behind them. Once outside, they took their Banshees, and rejoined their friends. Luckily, the colorful dots weren't hard to spot in the white enviroment.

"We did it." Yang said, as she left her vehicle.

"Indeed you did." Cortana replied. "I've located the _Pillar of Autumn_. She put down twelve-hundred kilometers up spin. Energy readings show her fusion reactors are still powered up. The systems of the _Pillar of Autumn_ have fail safes that even I can't override, without authorization from the Captain. We'll need to find him or his neutral implants, to start the fusion core detonation. One target remaining. Let's take care of the final pulse generator."

"Wait a moment." Ruby interrupted. "How are _we_ supposed to get off the ring?"

"Let me check something..." Cortana said. "There should still be a Longsword docked in the Autumn. I'd suggest that some of use take that vehicle, while the rest detonates the cores. It should take some time until the explosion, which we can use to get picked up by Foehammer."

"Sounds like a plan." The Chief agreed. "And how will we get to the ship from Keyes' position?"

"Trust me, I already have a plan. But its complicated, and we have to move on. Pyrrha? Yang? Can you take the two Banshees, and fly to the next canyon? We'll take the tunnels."

The two girl nodded, and jumped into the vehicles, before flying away over the cliffs. Ruby jumped into the Warthog, and operated the Chaingun, while Nora got the Shotgun seat.

They drove down the slope, luckily still cleared out from when Yang went through here with the tank a couple of hours ago. Along the way, even in the tunnels, they took out Flood and Covenant, until they arrived at the first blast door.

They tried to open it, but halfway through, it broke down. Two Combat forms, alongside a couple of Infection forms, ran through the gap, but where taken down effortlessly.

The group found themselves back in the giant room with the ravine in the middle. The bridge was full of infection forms, which were taken out by a hail of bullets from the Chief and Weiss, together with Pennys swords.

The rest of the Flood in here was taken out in a similiar fashion, and Yang activated the panel to open the door.

As soon as they left the tunnels again, they saw a battlefield. Or rather, what was left of it. Burned out wrecks of vehicles laid around everywhere, partially from the battle a couple of hours ago, partially new. Pyrrha and Yang were standing in the middle of the field, taking care of the last Sangheili.

They approached the two. "Did you do that?" Weiss asked.

Yang shrugged. "I guess. All we really did was letting them duke it out, and then finish off the remains."

"Okay, listen everyone." Cortana spoke up, and everyone looked at Chief. "I'm planning on using the leftover energy of the last generator to teleport us to Keyes. However, I can only teleport six poeple."

"Wait, since when can you do that?" Blake asked.

"There's a teleportation grid that runs throughout Halo. I learned how to tap into the grid when I was in the Control Center."

"And did you find out where he was?" Nora asked.

"Of course. He seems to be aboard the _Truth and Reconciliation._ Again."

Everyone looked at her. "Seriously? Aren't there any other Covenant ships here?" Weiss replied sarcastically.

"Technically, the local Covenant navy has the power of around 54 ships."

"WHAT?!" Everyone, including Bailey and John, replied.

"Why didn't those bastards wipe us out already?" The sharpshooter asked.

"Halo is sacred to them. Shooting at us would mean damaging, and potentially destroying, it. Anyway, I'd suggest to get Ruby, Blake, Nora, Jaune and Penny aboard the ship with us. You four already know the rough layout and what to expect, while Penny has impressive firepower."

"I like that idea." Ren replied. "And meanwhile, we're going to call Foehammer, and fly to the _Autumn_."

"Exactly."

"One question though." Nora pointed out. "None of us knows how to fly a Banshee. And we only have two."

"I might have a solution for that." Weiss replied, and turned towards Ruby. "Remember the initiation?"

"Oh, nice idea. Let's go."

The heiress nodded, and summoned a line of glyphs, going across the cliff, up to the balcony. Ruby ran towards them, and up the wall. Blake and Nora repeated the same.

"Yeah, I'm gonna take the Banshee." John said, and went for the vehicle.

"I don't mind!" Penny yelled, and ran up the wall.

Jaune was unsure what to do, and grabbed the Banshee, in an attempt to ask the Chief. However, he already started the vehicle, and flew up, while Jaune was holding on for his life.

Eventually, Chief landed, and Jaune walked up to the edge with shaking legs. He looked down, and threw up. "I'm never gonna do that again."

His friends laughed, something that soon died down, as a group of Sentinels left the structure. Chief quickly jumped back into the Banshee, and took them on from the skies.

Meanwhile, the others tried to distract them, so that the Spartan could easily take them out.

With the drones taken care off, they went inside, and deactivated the last generator. "Alright, get ready to teleport." Cortana said, and wisked them away.

* * *

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **Frozen ravine system, near the Control Center**  
 **September 21; 2552**

Weiss, Yang, Pyrrha, Ren and Bailey looked up, as the sound of engines was heard. Echo 419 slowly descended, and opened its bay. "Welcome to Foehammer airlines." The pilot said, and they went inside. "Can I ask something? Why the hell do you want to go to the _Autumn_?"

"We need to overload the reactors, so that we can destroy Halo." Weiss explained.

"Didn't we want to fire it?"

"Well, it turns out this thing is less like a gun, and more like a galaxy-wide nuke." Bailey mentioned. "We need to stop this thing, and the Flood."

She thought about the whole thing for a moment. "All right. And you want to get off how?"

"We will be using a Longsword on the _Autumn_ , while you'll pick up the rest." Yang said.

"Does anybody of you even know how to use a Longsword?" The Pelican shook, as it started to fly.

Bailey nodded. "I learned how to use a Falcon in basic training. From what I've seen, the jet isn't much different."

"That's true. For your plan, you'll only have to fly straight up anyway. I hope it works."

"Me too." Pyrrha said in thought. "Me too."

* * *

 **And here's Chapter 8. I've taken the liberty to change Cortana's line a bit, so that it included the fact that Halo wipes out everything. I've noticed that it is a common miconception that the ring only wipes out sentient lifeforms, which isn't true, as it is clearly stated multiple times that the effect kills animals and Flood as well.  
**

 **Sorry about the little mistake with the update. Whoops. (I should label the files more distinctively)  
**

 **And now to replies:**

 **First off, before actually answering any, don't worry, Bailey will survive HCE. Didn't think that so many people would like him that much.**

 **TheFishKing: Not as much horrified as angry.**

 **Rocketmce: Don't worry. He won't die.**

 **Plasma Dragon 312: Don't worry.**

 **Edrap: At this point, Bailey is 29. So no, he and Ruby won't get together. As for the two panels, yes, it is definitely going to play a role. About Foehammer: Yeah, she's dead no matter what. Even in the mod where you can follow the Pelican, one can actually see her dead in the cockpit. And yes, there'll be chapters between the arcs. For example, I have four chapters planned between HCE and H2, and a good amount between H3 and H4.**

 **red october700: I don't know how Plasma Dragon 312 started a shipping war, he never mentioned ships. While I can understand that you'd like to see Chief and Ruby getting together, there's an age gap of 26 years between them, and considering that Ruby is a minor, it won't work. Not only that, but even if John breaks out of his shell, I doubt that he'll make romance one of his priorities. Overall, the relationship between the two is meant like a 'brothers in arms' relation. (Also, the size difference would make it even more weird.)  
You can send me the Bio, but I can't guarantee that he/she will appear, since I have planned out Halo 1,2,3 and ODST, and four for the most part.  
And don't worry, I'm not planning on letting Pyrrha and/or Penny die. The character development can be gained other wise.  
Also, I can understand that you wrote it on your phone, and I'm not someone to be annoyed by mistakes, as long as I can still make out what it means. I can't even write a coherent sentence on my phone. Still, I'm gonna add 'Jayne' to my list of typos in Jaune's name. It's one I haven't heard yet.  
**

 **Vandar: Like I already said (multiple times), I'm not sure about H5G yet, since I haven't planned through Halo 4 all the way. As for them becoming Spartans: no. Their Aura makes the surgery needed for that nearly impossible, and they are way too much of an asset for the UNSC and ONI to risk them like that.**

 **A fan: No, they can't, since Grimm dissolve upon death. Yes, the expanded universe play a heavy role in this, especially with things that are revealed later about Remnant.**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	9. Truth and Reconciliation 2

Chapter 9: Truth and Reconciliation 2: Flooded Boogaloo

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **CCS-battlecruiser "Truth and Reconciliation"**  
 **September 21; 2552**

The Masterchief still wasn't sure what to think of the teenagers that helped him through the last two days. They weren't exactly military, but they weren't civilians either. More something weird in the middle. One thing was clear though: They were good. Hell, if they weren't from another dimension, and would've arrived a couple of decades earlier, they would've made perfect Spartans.

However, he wondered what would happen once they got back to Earth. ONI would probably not kill them for experiments. They are too important. However, that didn't mean that they wouldn't try some things with them, especially Penny. Well, but to do that, they would have to get through him first. They had already lost too many good soldiers in the war, and the Spartan was not intending to let the teenagers be added to the list.

Then again, right now, it didn't go well for any of them. The Flood was slowly taking over the Ring, a rampant Monitor was trying to destroy all life in the galaxy, and creatures of pure darkness were attacking all factions from the air and ground.

He was ripped out of his thoughts as the teleportation process ended, and he looked around. They were inside the heavily damaged _Truth and Reconciliation._ One thing was weird though: Everything was turned over.

He, Ruby, Blake, Jaune, Nora and Penny landed on their heads. It looked like the travel turned them upside down. John stood up, and hit the side of his head.

"Sorry." Cortana replied.

"How's the situation with the Covenant?" Ruby asked, as she stood back up. Logical question, seeing as they were on one of their ships.

"The Covenant network is in complete chaos! From what I've been able to piece together, their leadership ordered all ships to abandon Halo when they found the Flood, but they were too late. The Flood overwhelmed this cruiser and disabled it. The Covenant are terrified that the Flood will repair this ship, and use it to escape from Halo. They've sent in a strike team to neutralize the Flood and repair the ship for immediate departure. I've got a good lock on Captain Keyes' transponder signal! He's alive! And the implants are intact! There's some interference from the cruiser's damaged reactor though."

"So, we'll have to deal with the Covenant." Blake mentioned. "Great. As if we don't have enough problems as it is."

They started to walk through the corridor, until they found a window, enabling them to see into the bridge room. Infection forms jumped on the window, but luckily didn't come through.

Suddenly, a radio transmission came through. It was Keyes, but his voice felt incredibly weak. _"Chief... Ruby... Jaune... Don't be fools. Leave me..."_

"Captain? Captain?! I've lost him." Cortana said.

"Come one, we have to hurry." Blake said, and they started running.

Penny took one last glimpse into the bridge, and could've sworn that she saw some sort of giant mass vibrating on the pedestal in the middle.

"Penny!" Ruby yelled.

"Coming!" She ran to the others, and they entered the next hallway, were a lone Grunt was running for his life, followed by an Infected Elite. Nora crushed the Flood with her hammer. They let the Grunt live, as it was entering another hallway, and they didn't have much time.

After fighting two more Grunts, and another group of Flood, they arrived at a Hangar bay, with a giant hole in the ground. It led down into a canyon, and streams of a strange, green liquid was pouring into a pond, made out of the same liquid. In the rest of the Hangar, the Covenant forces were fighting the Flood.

"Analyzing damage..." Cortana spoke up. "This hole was caused by some kind of explosive. Very powerful if it tore through a ship's hull. All I detect down there are pools of coolant. We should continue our search somewhere else."

Suddenly, the ceiling behind them exploded, and Infection forms were coming in. Nora took her BR, and shot into the horde, decimating it together with the Chief. However, there didn't seem to be an end to the Infection.

Ruby and Jaune looked into the abyss, and had an idea. They grabbed John and Nora, and jumped down, dragging the two with them. Blake and Penny followed, but Blake threw the only grenade she had into the hallway, hoping that it would cut off the Flood for now.

* * *

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **Canyons under the CCS-battlecruiser "Truth and Reconciliation"**  
 **September 21; 2552**

As they entered the coolant, they had to hold their breaths, until they could swim back on land. They were inside the canyon. The sky was blocked by the massive cruiser.

"That worked better than expected." Jaune said, and helped Ruby up. "Is everyone okay?"

They nodded, and looked around. The group saw a small Covenant force fighting the Flood, as well as a group of four Creeps. One of the Infection forms latched onto an Sangheili, and he started to transform, until he was ripped to pieces by a Creep. Ruby shot the Grimm, and they entered the battle, taking out all other combatants swiftly.

"Let's get out of here, and find another way back aboard the ship." Cortana said.

They went ahead, and found more Covenant troops fighting the Flood and Beowolfs. The group instantly went in, and started to kill the Flood.

Ruby took out one of the infected Marines, as she felt something pressing against her back. She looked behind her, and saw that she was standing back-to-back with an Elite, who was cutting down Flood with a sword. It seemed like the Covenant was willing to set old fights aside, if there was a common, bigger enemy. She smiled, and shot down the Flood in front of her. Suddenly, a Beowolf jumped at them, and died with a Plasmablade in one, and Crescent Rose in the other side. Both warriors instantly went back to take on the Flood back-to-back, until all were defeated.

They catched their breath, and Ruby wanted to thank the Elite for the help. However, the Alien turned around, and swung his blade. She managed to duck, and saw the Chief climbing on the Elite's back. He took his knife, and rammed it into the Sangheilis neck.

As the Elite died, Ruby looked at the Alien, a bit sad. "Why did he help me?"

The Chief wiped the blood off his dagger, and looked at the girl. "Even though the Covenant seems mindless and ruthless, the Elites have a strict honor system. And after thirty years of war, they have grown to respect humanity. In their eyes, we're honorable, even you. And if they really are that terrified of the Flood, it's obvious that they would be able to set the war aside for a moment."

She looked at the dead Elite once again. "Wow. I didn't think that of them."

"Well, the cultures of the different Covenant species is pretty diverse." Cortana explained. "The Elites have an honor system, the Jackals live as pirates and merchants. At their core, all of them are different." They looked over to Blake, who was cutting down the last Grunt in the area. "If it wasn't for the war, I think some of them could have made great allies."

"Guys? Are you coming?" Nora asked. Blake, Jaune and Penny were already holding off a horde of Flood coming into the canyon.

"Comin'!" Ruby ran towards them, but turned around one last time to look at the Masterchief. "Just so you know, as long as they try to wipe us out, I'll still do my best to at least kill as much of them as possible." She ran off, charging into battle.

The Spartan said nothing, and ran in himself. He grabbed one of the infected, and ripped the Infection form out with his bare hands. They continued through the narrow canyon, and tried to fend off multiple Carrier forms falling in, as well as the resulting Infection forms.

Eventually, they reached the exit, and found a bunch of ammo on the ground. Ruby took the Sniper rounds, and loaded them into Crescend Rose, as well as her Sniper Rifle. She zoomed in on the battle before them.

A troop of Covies, including two Hunters, fought against a small horde of Flood, and a group of Beowolf and Ursa. One of the bears tried to get a hit on one of the Hunters, but got hit with the giant shield, and thrown against a cliff. It was instantly dead.

One of the Beowolf jumped onto a Floodform, and ripped it to shreds, until it attacked the next one. They noticed that the Flood was ignoring the Grimm for the most part. Made sense though. If the Flood was out for biomass, why would it attack something that wouldn't give them any?

Of course, they still defended themselves, even if the Grimm were stronger most of the time. Eventually, the Grimm and Hunters had taken out the Flood, and concentrated on each other. The fight was soon over, with the Hunters being victorious.

To Rubys surprise, both of them looked at the ground.

"I'm gonna take them out." Blake said, and snuck up to them. As soon as she got close, she felt something weird. It took a moment until she realized what was going on: The Lekgolo were talking. However, instead of using mouths, the worms in their bodies vibrated, meaning that she felt their talk more than she heard it. Well, not that she could understand a single word of it. Still, considering the pattern in which the words were used, it sounded, or felt, like they were citing some form of poetry.

She shook it off. They were still just a bunch of worms inside an armor. Blake swiftly stabbed her blade into the back of one of them, and ripped out a large number of worms with it. The other one turned around, and fired his cannon. The plasma hit the cliff, and Blake ran along the shores of the coolant pools in the area. Eventually, the back of the Lekgolo was pointing towards Ruby, who took the shot. The Hunter staggered, and Blake used the chance to take him out.

Everyone jumped down, and gathered in the middle. "They talked." Blake said.

"Yes, they can. According to our data, the Lekgolo actually achieved spaceflight before joining the Covenant. You shouldn't underestimate them." Cortana said. "The crash did more damage than I suspected. Analyzing. Coolant leakage rate is significant. The ship's reactor should've already gone critical."

"And why didn't it?" Penny asked.

"I'd guess that either the Flood, or the Covenant stabilized it somehow. Oh, by the way."

Penny felt data entering her programs. "What was that?"

"I gave you some of the access codes to the UNSC and Covenant battlenet. Having two AIs capable of using them is more useful then one."

"Thanks." Penny saved the codes in her memory banks, as shots ruined the peaceful moments.

A squad of Elites ran out of the next canyon, shooting behind them, as Grimm came after the Aliens. The group of Beowolf jumped on the first Elite, who grabbed the head of the monster, and broke its neck. Another Elite grabbed his dagger, which, just like their swords, was made out of plasma, and stabbed another Beowolf into the side of the head.

Suddenly, a loud roar was heard, as a big Alpha Beowolf left the canyon. It grabbed the Elite that just broke the other Beowolfs neck, and ripped him in two effortlessly. The other two Elites ran into cover, and shot at the Grimm with their Carbines. The rounds hit the Alpha, but it didn't do much. It ran in, and rammed one of the Elites into the ground headfirst, killing him.

The group already took the Beowolf into their aim, and fired. Some of their bullets bounced off the boneplates, while some pierced its hide. The last Elite sliced at the monsters hand with his sword, but was picked up by the Beowolf. It bit into him, and then threw the Elite against a cliff, before turning towards the group.

Acting fast, the Chief ripped off the cannon of one of the hunters, and aimed at the Grimm. John pulled the 'trigger', and the cannon shot, burning a huge hole into the Alpha. It fell down, and started to dissolve.

"That was a huge Beowolf." Jaune pointed out. "What do you think how old it was?"

"I'd guess around two centuries." Blake said.

The Chief threw away the cannon, which was a heavy weapon even for him, and joined them. "Let's hope it already cleared out the area before us."

They went through the next canyon, which was indeed empty, except for the ripped apart bodies of Elites and Flood everywhere. After going up a ledge, and jumping down a small cliff, they found themselves at the end of the canyon.

In the middle of the area, a ramp led up to a familiar platform, with an energy stream going up into the ship. "Power source detected. There's the gravity lift. It's still operational! That's our way back in!"

"Then come on."

To their surprise, even this area was clear, and they guessed that the Alpha entered the canyon through this place. They went up the ramp, and waited inside the lift until they they ascended into the cruiser.

* * *

 **Soell System, Installation 04**  
 **CCS-battlecruiser "Truth and Reconciliation"**  
 **September 21; 2552**

The hangar they were in was obviously the same from two days ago. The doors were still locked, or rather broken, with only the main tunnel open. The room was filled with corpses of dead Covenant soldiers, and a couple of Beowolf were either feasting on them, or sleeping.

All opened fire, and took out the Grimm. "How did they get in here?" Ruby asked.

"Maybe they used the lift?" Penny suggested. It sounded logical. The lift seemed to be automated right now, so if the Grimm stood inside the stream as it activated, they could've easily went up here.

They went into the tunnel, and saw that even the spot were Nora broke the wall was still there. Obviously, the Covenant didn't have much time to repair the ship.

"The Covenant battle net is a mess." Cortana mentioned. "I can't access the ship's schematics."

"Me neither." Penny added. "Can't we just go the same way you used back then?"

"That's what we're doing right now." John assured, as they entered the hangar were Nora ran amok.

Even though most of the damage she did was still visible, the doors were open again. However, in this room, it looked like the Flood won the battles. "Look, in the corners. The Flood are gathering bodies." Cortana pointed out.

They saw dead Elites, Unggoy, Humans, anything really. The group used the chance to stock up on ammo, and went deeper into the ship, until hey found another big hangar bay. This one was unscathed, and not devoid of any life. Still, they could see a good amount of Nevermores and Griffons outside. There was a Spirit docked in the bay.

They fought past the local forces, consisting of Elites, Flood, and an occasional adventurous Griffon, as a new transmission came in.

 _"I... gave you an order, Soldiers! Now pull out!"_ It was Keyes.

"He's delirious! In pain! We have to find him!" Cortana said. Everyone nodded, and went up to the third floor.

The group entered the last hallways, as Keyed contacted them once again. This time, it was nothing more than a pained scream of pure agony.

"Keyes!" Ruby yelled over the comms.

Something whispered back, but she could only make out bits of it. "S- h- -an -ok-."

"What?"

"Ruby, give it up." Jaune said, and put a hand on her shoulder. "We have to hurry."

She sighed, and they went up to the Control room. After taking out the Flood, they went to the middle. A strange mass was here, with tentacles extending into every direction, holding the abomination in place. A couple of faces, human, as well as Covenant, stuck out.

And in the middle was Keyes, assimilated into the creature. No one could bare to look at it any longer, except for John, Penny and Blake. "Keyes... He's one of them." Nora muttered.

"We can't let the Flood get off this ring." Cortana interrupted. "We all know what he'd expect. What he'd want us to do."

The Spartan nodded, and punched Keyes' head in. Instead of blood and brains flying everywhere, it cracked open like an egg, leaking green fluid and Flood-biomass. John wiped the Flood off the implants, and gave them to Penny. "Take good care of them."

She looked at the device, and nodded, before putting it into one of her pockets. Suddenly, the doors flew open, as hordes of Flood entered the bridge. It looked like they were angry. However, through one of the doors, Elites and Grunts, wearing a black armor, entered. The Grunts were holding Fuel Rod Cannons.

"Special forces!" John yelled, and shot one of the Grunts. It dropped its cannon, and Nora picked it up, quickly shooting the remaining shots at the entrance that the Flood was using. The metal melted, and broke down, blocking the entrance.

Meanwhile, the others were taking out the rest of the Covies and Flood, before they went back into the corridors. Eventually, they arrived back in the hangar. The Spirit was still docked.

They jumped down, using their Semblances, or mere skills, to land as soft as possible, before going into the Spirit.

"Dejà Vù, eh?" Nora asked, as she sat down in one of the seats. The Chief went into the cockpit.

"Hey, Chief?" Jaune asked. "Do you know how to fly a Spirit?"

"Yes, I do. Just don't expect the entire flight to go smooth." With that, the dropship jumped to life, and left the Hangar bay.

"So, Keyes is dead." Ruby muttered.

"Yeah, I guess." Nora replied, as sad as Ruby.

"By the way..." Jaune said. "Did you realize that we may never get back home?"

"What?" Penny asked.

"Well, we don't know if we can only use the ring to travel between the dimensions. If we blow it up, maybe we blow up our chance to get back home too."

Everyone looked down. They all knew that they had to destroy Halo, no matter what. Even if it meant to be stuck in this world.

* * *

 **And here's Chapter 9, the penultimate Chapter of HCE. I decided that, with all the battles going on under the ship, that it could be a good time to show a bit more of the Covenant side.  
**

 **Also, an previous idea of getting off the ship was Penny transforming into a plane like she did in the manga, and the others using Banshees. Obviously, she didn't do it, but maybe later.**

 **Now to replies:**

 **Cmedina1: Well, like I said, he has to give commands and tips. For Chief, the safety of the poeple serving under him is one of the most important things, and to ensure it, the teens have to know about the tactics of the Covenant and UNSC. As for the Gravemind thing: I'm already practicing it since the library (Especially since the Gravemind is gonna have a lot more dialogue than in the games.)**

 **TheFishKing: That's a good idea.**

 **Edrap: Well, maybe a bit underwhelming, seeing as it looks just like Remnant with different continents. And don't worry, there are no plans for either of them to reach Remnant. It won't be directly involved in the war, but let's just say that the relics will play a role. As for Salem, yes, she will be involved in the war.**

 **Plasma Dragon 312: You didn't start one. (I wouldn't even call it a 'war'. A war is more like what is going on under videos of the BMBLB song.) As for the infection thing: The Flood infects, and spreads through the spine, killing its prey in the process, meaning that the Grimm dies anyway, and dissolves.**

 **minecraft93: I know that Dust does not work outside of Remnant, that was even said in Chapter 2. If you mean why their weapons are working with UNSC ammo, that's just so that they wouldn't be worthless. In case of the scrolls, it's just leftover battery charge, just like with Penny and her weapons.**

 **Calvinffn: They are on the ships. Even though Brutes were stationed in the fleet, Thel didn't allow them to go on the ring, since he didn't trust them. (That's at least how I remember it)  
**

 **red october700: About the height difference: yeah, that's one of the two funny things about a relationship between the two, the other one being Cortana, or anyone else, calling Chief out on dating what could be considered as a loli.  
Wait, the OC wouldn't even been born yet? How old is he/she? But if it's a Spartan IV, then yeah, some random ones would be good for Halo 4.  
No, 2 and ODST don't happen at the same time. In fact, there's a difference of two weeks between ODST and Delta Halo. As for how it will work: Both teams get split up, half going with Chief, the other half being scattered around New Mombasa.  
As for the armor, they are already wearing Marine jackets, but they'll of course get some better stuff during the battle of Earth, and during the travel to the planet.  
I don't know yet if they'll find a way back, but I have already ideas for a couple scenarions of either possibility. **

**A fan: I had to read this review five times to understand what it meant, so good job at playing Caboose there.  
**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	10. Point of no return

Chapter 10: Point of no return

 **Soell System, Installation 04** **  
Halycon-Class Light Cruiser "UNSC Pillar of Autumn"**  
 **September 22; 2552**

This was it. Ruby knew that, once the ring blew up, there would be no way home. They'd be stuck in another dimension, in a war that wasn't theirs. But it had to be done. The risk of the Flood leaving Halo was too big. No one would be safe, not even Remnant. This was the only way.

During the last days, she had seen spaceships, interstellar parasites, Aliens of all forms and sizes, and a completely new human civilization. One on the brink of extinction. As huntress, she swore to protect humanity, something she'd do even here. However, she also saw death. How people died because of mistakes she made, or just because their enemies were too strong. Something she would not repeat. Not under her control.

But she had also seen the hope the Humans got when they saw them. How they were welcomed, and celebrated at Alpha Base. Maybe this was all a weird turn of destiny.

Even if it was, she'd be damned if Humanity was wiped out under her watch.

"Ruby." She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked towards Penny. "Look."

The robot pointed to the screen which showed the outside of the Spirit. There was a giant object in the ground. The trench the crash created was filled with water, and the damage of the previous battle was clearly visible on the grey and green hull.

It was the _Pillar of Autumn._

She had to admit, the human ships didn't look as fancy and menacing as the Covenant ships, but she was sure that they still had a lot of firepower. Instead of a sleak, almost organical design, the ship was a big, grey block.

Behind the ship, the sun was rising. "Nature's so clichè." Nora stated, gaining a chuckle from everyone.

The Chief flew the Spirit next to one of the airlocks, where he opened the troop bays. Everyone jumped out, while the Spartan turn the ship around, and jumped out of the airlock before it crashed down.

"We need to go to the bridge." Cortana explained. "From there, we can use the Captain's neural implants to initiate an overload of the ship's fusion engines. The explosion should damage enough systems below it to destroy the ring."

"Before we go." Jaune interrupted. "Let me call the others real quick." He pressed on his radio. "Bailey? Pyrrha? Here's Jaune. Are you okay?"

There was no response for a while, which got him a bit worried. Luckily, it eventually came through. _"Jaune? Here's Pyrrha. We're at the Longsword. Are you on the Autumn?"_

"Yes. We're gonna tell you when we set the reactors to explode. Hold tight."

 _"I don't want to sound demanding, but please be quick."_ Bailey answered. _"We've got Covenant, Flood and Spark's robots coming in. Hell, we even got a Nevermore a couple of hours ago."_

"Don't worry. We'll try to make it quick." Ruby responded.

"Hey, shouldn't we try to make sure that Snowhammer is okay too?" Nora suggested. From the outside, they were able to hear a faint growling.

"Good idea." Ruby activated her radio again. "Foehammer? Ar-"

 _"Can you please tell Nora that it is FOEHAMMER?"_

"She heard that?" Blake and John asked in shock.

"Yeah, sorry. Are you in position?"

 _"Ready to get you whenever you need it. Just call me."_

"Understood. Ruby out." She shut off her comm, and turned towards the others. "Okay, let's blow this ring to hell."

"Uhm, where do we need to go?" Blake asked.

Now that she mentioned it, Ruby had no idea. Sure, this ship was human, but they have never been on it. And all the walls looked the same too. Grey, green or beige, made out of metal, and featureless. The ground was made out of hard metal, just like the ceiling. If anything, the inner parts of the ship seemed cold. Lifeless. Then again, it crashed into a giant ring after two heated battles, so maybe that did a number on it.

"We have to go there." Penny said, and pointed towards a small door in the wall. An arrow on the ground indentified it as a maintenance tunnel.

"How do you know that?" Nora asked.

"Cortana gave me the schematics for the Autumn." Penny explained.

They shrugged, and entered the dark tunnels. It was very narrow, and they had problems with seeing their path. Except for Blake, thanks to her Faunus heritage. Luckily, even now, the Chief had the solution. Two lamps on the side of his helmet started to glow.

As they arrived at an open hatch, leading onto a lower level, Infection forms climbed up, but died in a hailof bullets.

They jumped down, and saw a group of Sentinels fighting the Flood. The group waited for the fight to be over, and took out the last two Sentinels with a grenade. As they walked over the debris, Nora noticed a piece that looked relatively intact, and picked it up. Judging by the shape of the object, it was some sort of weapon.

Suddenly, Flood came around the corner at the end of the hallway, and Nora activated the device. A beam of energy cut through the air, taking down the Flood.

"Oh, that's nice." Nora said, and decided to keep the beam for now.

They kept fighting the Flood through the next hallways, until they arrived at the next big one. Two hunters were patroulling the area, but were taken out easily.

Nora went around a corner, looking at a screen. Orginally, she saw the side of a Medikit stickin out of the corner, and she wanted to have one with her, just in case. After she took it, Nora noticed the screen. It showed different kinds of food. Intrigued, she studied the menu. To her surprise, a lot of the dishes and drinks were familiar. Hotdogs, Burgers, Soda. It seemed like some food carried over even in other dimensions.

"Nora!" Jaune yelled.

"Coming!" She walked away, following the others into the mess hall. Ruby, Penny and John were already taking care of the few Covenant soldiers inside. She approached the Spartan. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Make it quick." John replied, and took out a Grunt with his Assault Rifle.

"If we have time later on, can I get a Coffee?"

"No way. Ren specifically said that you're not allowed any caffeine."

Nora clenched her fists. "Dammit Ren. Just one time." She readied her hammer, and buried one of the Grunts under it.

After the mess hall was clear, they moved on into the next hallway. It led directly to a big room. "The bridge. We made it. Let's get to work." Cortana said. They took out the three Grunts inside, and looked around. Monitors were hanging along the walls, some intact, some broken. In the front of the room was one big screen, with a terminal in front. Big windows allowed a view into the surrounding desert. A small ladder was leading to another post, which looked like it broke off during the crash, leaving nothing but a gaping abyss.

Penny handed Masterchief the implants, and he inserted them into his helmet. "I need you to upload me into the control systems. The terminal is located next to the main view screen."

The Spartan obliged, and put Cortana's chip into the terminal. Her avatar appeared above the machine. "I leave home for a few days, and look what happens. This won't take long." She started to concentrate.

Suddenly, the screen came back to life, and showed a message, telling them that the Self-destruct sequence was initiated. "There. That should give us enough time to get picked up by Foehammer, and get some distance to Halo before it goes to hell."

The comms came to life too, and a cheery, familiar voice was heard. _"I'm afraid this is out of the question, really."_

Ruby glenched her fists and teeth. "Spark."

 _"Ridiculous! That you would imbue a warship's AI with such an wealth of knowledge! Weren't your worried it might be captured? Or destroyed?"_

Blake and Ruby started to look around, searching for the Monitor. "He's in my data arrays. A local tap!" Cortana said, and both looked at her again.

 _"You can't imagine how exciting this is! To have a record of all of our lost time! Human history, is it? Fascinating. Even if it lacks information about your new abilities. Oh, how I will enjoy every moment of its categorization! And to think that you would destroy this Installation, as well as this record... I am shocked. Almost too shocked for words."_

"Come here, and I w _ill_ make you too shocked for words." Nora replied.

A sound was heard, and the screen showed that the Self-destruct sequence was stopped. "He stopped the sequence." Cortana explained.

 _"Why do you continue to fight us, Reclaimer? You cannot win! Give us the construct, and I will endeavor to make your deaths relatively painless, and-"_ Spark was interrupted, as Cortana shut him off.

"At least I have control over the Comm channels."

"Thanks for that." Jaune said.

"Where's Spark?" Penny wanted to know.

"I'm detecting taps throughout the ship. Sentinels, most likely. As for the Monitor... He's in Engineering. He must have be trying to take the core offline! Even if I could get the countdown restarted... I don't know what to do."

"How much does it need to destroy the engines?" Nora asked.

"Not much. A well-placed grenade, or a powerful energy shock. Why?"

The Chief took a grenade, and started to toss it up and down. Next to him, Nora held up her hand, and let electric sparks fly between her fingers. Cortana nodded.

"Okay, we can do this."

As she said this, five Sentinels flew up outside the window, and attacked. They took cover behind screens and debris. Nora picked up one of the Fuel Rod Guns dropped by the dead Grunts, and shot. The explosion took out two Sentinels. The Chief took a Plasma Pistol, and opened fire. Before long, they managed to take out the Sentinels.

"Now that that's taken care of." Jaune spoke up. "Where do we have to go?"

"Let's head to the cryo chamber. We should be able to get to the engine room through there." Cortana and Penny said in unison, and looked at each other.

"Come on." Ruby commented, and they left the bridge, heading for the cryo chamber.

Along the way, they took out everything that opposed them. Covenant, Flood, Sentinels. Eventually, they reached the chamber. Even here, Sentinels were fighting the Flood. After taking out all enemies on the lower levels, they went up a ladder, going into the control room. Here, Ruby noticed two screens: A blue one, and a red one.

Both showed basically the same thing: The vitals of whoever was in the cryo chamber. One was labelled with 'Master Chief UNSC Petty Officer John-117'. The other one, which was red, showed the image of a Spartan, but was titled 'UNSC Petty Officer Linda-058'.

"Chief?" She yelled, and the Spartan came to her.

"What is it?" John asked, reloading his Assault Rifle.

"Who's Linda?"

He looked to the ground. "A good friend. And soldier. She was on the Autumn, heavily wounded. I think her cryopod was discarded during the battle."

Ruby waited a moment to comprehend this. It was the first time the Chief showed another emotion than surprise. He was sad and worried.

It didn't hold long though, as an explosion came from the hallway ahead. The Flood had broken in, and everyone got in position. After clearing out the attackers, they moved on. The group fought throught the next batch of maintenance tunnels, until they arrived at a larger one, where Sentinels and Covenant were fighting each other.

After the battle was over, they looked around. Two smaller hallways led to the engine room, while an arrow on the ground indicated an armory to their right. They decided that they could use the extra ammo, and went into the armory. There were ARs, Shotguns and Rocket Launchers hanging at the walls, with ammo and weapons scattered over the ground. They took everything they could carry, and left, going into the Engine room. Before they coul leave though, Penny noticed the backdoor opening, and used one of her swordlasers to destroy the entrance into the armory, so no enemy could follow them.

The engine room was gigantic. A big object, probably the engine, rested in the middle, cutting the room in two. On both sides, ways led up to the top, and six exhaust pipes led into the engine, three on each side. Above them, a scaffolding spanned across the room.

Sadly, the room wasn't devoid of enemies. A couple of Infection forms were crawling along the bottom, while groups of Sentinels were swarming around in the air. "So, how is this gonna work?" Ruby asked.

"First, we need to pull back the exhaust couplings. That will expose a shaft that leads to the primary fusion drive core."

"And where can we pull them back?" Nora wondered.

"There are four terminals at the top level. I'd suggest that one of us stays up there and activates them, while the others destroy the cores."

"I like that plan. Let's go, team!" Ruby said.

"Not so fast!" They looked up, and saw Spark flying towards them. "I think you understand that I can't let you do that."

"Fuck off." Nora replied angry.

"What? You're nothing more than children! You think you can make such an important and consequential decision?"

Ruby looked at the two arguing, and had an idea. Maybe the Sentinels would be distracted if Spark was. She told her idea to John, and he agreed. Everyone except fo Ruby left, and she approached the Monitor. "Hey, Spark. Can I ask you something?"

"Why would I allow that?" He replied angry. Even when he was furious, a floating ball wasn't very intimidating.

"Well, I have my doubts about our plan. I'd like to know more. So, how long were you here?"

The AI looked at the ground, as if it was sad. "100.000 years. Alone."

That actually took he Ruby surprise. She didn't expect Halo to be that old. "That long?"

"Yes. My creators built these rings to destroy the Flood. A last hope to safe the galaxy. I'm happy to see that the Librarian's plan worked out as planned."

"Is the Librarian your creator?" Ruby asked, genuinly intrigued.

"I don't know. My knowledge of the time back then is locked away from me."

"Oh, and is there anything you'd like to have right now?" If Ruby had to be honest, she didn't really know how to keep the conversation going.

"A whole platoon of Prometheans would be nice. Then I could finally get rid of you. Then again, _he'd_ be here too. And _he_ could end up destroying this Installation by himself, and I'd have no way to stop him."

The conversation ended, as a loud explosion shook the room. Both looked up, and saw one of the locks open. The reactor was burning. Spark looked back at Ruby. "You tricked me!" For a moment, his eyes became a bright red instead of blue. "You'll pay for that!"

Ruby used the chance, and took off her jacket. She threw it on Spark, obstructing his view. "Hey, what's going on?"

She jumped on him, and used the Monitor as a launch pad to jump up, only to use her semblance to get on top and join the others.

"How's it going?"

"Don't worry, friend." Penny said, and smiled. "Nora is already taking care of the second reactor."

Ruby looked down, and saw Nora standing on the lock. Electricity was flowing between her fingers, and before she comprehended what was going on, Nora shot electricity at the exposed reactor. It exploded, and fire started to burn on the reactor. "Second one down!" Nora yelled. She sounded tired, and Ruby guessed that the move took a lot of energy.

Nora started to make her way up to them, as another explosion shook the room. _"Third Generator is destroyed."_ Jaune said over the radio.

"Nice." Penny said.

"Not so fast." Spark flew up in front of them. "This is absolutely unacceptable. I cannot, and will not let you destroy this Installation!" With that, a group of Sentinels entered the room, and started to shoot at them. Luckily, Penny and Nora took the out quickly. While Nora used a rocket she picked up in the armory, Penny used the guns inside her swords. Ruby noticed that the shots were getting weaker, which meant that Pennys power supply got small. The whole day of constant fighting probably took a huge toll on her.

"Uhm, guys?" Blake said, and pointed down. The doors leading into the generator room were broken down, and Grimm were pouring in.

"Oh, give me a break!" Spark yelled annoyed.

"What are they doing here?" Nora asked.

"I guess the Covenant is panicing." Jaune explained, as he joined them. "And Spark's anger certainly doesn't help."

Another, larger explosion caused the whole ship to shake. They looked through the hallway leading to the other side of the room, and saw the Chief closing in. "We did it." He said.

"NO!" Spark screamed.

"Hey, tennisball!" Nora said, and aimed her SPNKR at Spark. She shot, and the explosion threw the Monitor across the room, against a wall. He wasn't damaged, but had to take a moment to recover.

"I don't want to rush anyone." Cortana mentioned. "But we only have fifteen minutes to get out of here, so how about we start moving?"

"Right." Ruby said, and ran off. The others followed, going through a door into the maintenance tunnels.

 _"Is the reactor blowing up?"_ Weiss asked over the radio.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

 _"Well, shit's exploding, the Covenant are in panic, and the ship shook."_

"Right. Stay put until we give the signal."

 _"Understood. Good luck, Ruby."_

"You too, Weiss." With that, Ruby shut off the transmission.

After a couple of turns, they arrived at a locked door, which instantly exploded. Behind it was the entrance to a large elevator. Said platform came down, and was occupied by three Grunts, and one Elite in a Shade.

"So, it's finally time." The Sangheili said.

"Oh god, please not now." Ruby facepalmed.

"I, Zuka 'Zamamee, will claim the heads of you demons, restore my honor, and get riches and praises from the Prophets!" The Elite yelled.

"Okay, dude, listen." Ruby began. "This whole thing is exploding, so I'd suggest you just get out of here."

"Not until I took y-"

"Man, we don't have time for this bullshit." Nora said, and jumped behind him.

She hit the Elite with her hammer, and he flew towards the Chief, how catched him. Zuka was looking at John's helmet, as said Spartan rammed his knife into the Elite's throat, killing him. Chief's helmet was the last thing Zuka ever saw.

The Grunts ran away in panic, as the Spartan threw the dead Sangheili to the side. Everyone stepped on the elevator. The doors shut, as explosions went off behind them. The whole ship was falling apart. The elevator started to move up.

"Cortana to Echo 419: come in, Echo 419!"

 _"Roger, Cortana. I read you, 5 by 5."_

"The _Pillar of Autumn's_ engines are going critical, Foe Hammer! Request immediate extraction! Approach the crash site and be ready to pick us up at external access Junction 4C as soon as you get my signal."

 _"Affirmative. Echo 419 going on station."_ There was a short silence, until Foehammer called again. _"Echo 419 to Cortana. Things are gettin' noisy down there. Everything okay?"_

"Negative, negative! We have a wildcat destabilization of of the ship's fusion drive core. The engines must have sustained more damage than we thought!" Cortana answered. The Elevator finally reached the top.

"Analyzing. We have six minutes before the fusion drives detonate. We need to evac now!"

They went into the room, and saw a couple of Warthogs standing in their stations. They walked up to one without a turret, but with more seats than usual. Perfect for getting out of here. The Chief jumped into the driver seat, while Ruby rode Shotgun. The rest went into the backseats.

John started the jeep, and left the station. The tunnels of the ship were luckily broad enough for the Hog, even if the Flood, Grimm and Covenant forces were still fighting everywhere.

"Activating final countdown timer." Cortana mentioned, and a timer appeared on the dashboard of the Warthog. "When it reaches zero, the engines will detonate. The explosion will generate a temperature of almost 100 million degrees. We don't wanna be here when it blows."

The Warthog jumped over gaps, drove up rams, and from time to time splattered an enemy. They had to admit, the Chief was an excellent driver, even if they had to hold tight to not fall off.

Around them, walls and structures exploded, sometimes killing off enemies. Eventually, they reached the end of the tunnels, and the Warthog jumped of a ledge, landing on the point where Foehammer was supposed to get them. The junction was between two parts of the ship, and a fall of the ledge would mean a fall to the death, even for Ruby. They couldn't even fully make out the ground. "Cortana to Echo 419! Request extraction now, on the double!"

 _"Affirmative, Cortana. Foe Hammer inbound."_ They saw her Pelican coming around the corner. However, one of the wings was burning, and two giant Nevermores were following the Pelican. Their claws scratched along the top of the dropship, ripping off armor plating. _"I'm hit! Mayday! Mayday!"_ She yelled over the comms. _"Airfoil structures have been shot to hell! I can't hold her! I can't hold her!"_

Everyone went quiet, as the Pelican flew below the junction, and crashed into the side of the _Autumn._ Burning debris fell down into the abyss. "Foehammer!" Ruby yelled, and ran up to the ledge. "She's... She's gone."

Jaune pulled her back. "Ruby, we have to get out of here!"

Ruby stepped back, and yelled at her friend. "She's dead, Jaune!"

"And we will be too, in approximetly three minutes." Nora said after she took a look at the dashboard.

Ruby nodded silently, and went back into the Warthog. "What now?"

"We join the others." The Chief started the Warthog again, and drove back inside the ship. "This way will lead straight to them."

"Weiss! Bailey!" Jaune shouted over the comms. "Are you still there?"

 _"Yes, we're getting ready to start."_ Weiss answered. _"Yang just finished to load up the last supplies."_

"Change of plans!" Jaune replied. "We're gonna come to you, and fly off together."

 _"What? Why?"_

"We'll explain later! Get the Longsword ready, and start as soon as we're in there." Blake said.

 _"Okay. Good luck."_

With that, the comms shut off, and they jumped down into another tunnel. It led through a narrow path, which eventually led into the hangar. A barricade stopped the jeep, and everyone jumped out. The Longsword was in front of them, and Weiss and Pyrrha were already waving. They ran as fast as possible to get there, even using their semblances or weapons when possible, to get there, and ran into the jet before the bay closed.

"Everyone on board?" Bailey asked.

"Yes! Get us out of here!" Yang yelled.

Bailey started the jet, and it slid out of the hangar, before the Corporal steered it up.

* * *

 **Soell System** **  
Longsword fighter**  
 **September 22; 2552**

Everyone gathered at the windows, as they left Halo's atmosphere. They could see the whole ring, and the oceans on it. Some spots were covered in a brown color, and they guessed that the Flood took over those places.

Suddenly, a bright light was visible. The ring at this section broke apart.

"Bailey, shut down the engines. We could need them later." Cortana said.

"On it, Ma'am." The Corporal shut down the engines, and then joined the others.

The ring broke apart more and more, and the pieces drifted off in every direction. They saw entire mountains and forests being launched into space, oceans freezing as soon as they left the atmosphere.

One of the fragments of the ring looked like it disappeared completely, from one second to the other.

"Wow." Ruby muttered.

"Did anyone else make it?" John asked.

"Scanning." Cortana paused. "Just... dust and echoes. We're all that's left."

The Spartan shook his head, and sat down in the pilot seat. Everyone else looked at the ground in sorrow. "Johnson. Silva. McKay. Keyes. Foehammer. They're all dead." Ruby said, and sat down, tears going down her cheeks.

Yang sat down next to her. "We didn't have a choice." She put a hand on her sisters shoulder.

"She's right." Cortana said. "We did what we had to do. For Earth. An entire Covenant armada obliterated. And the Flood."

"I'm going to miss Showhammer." Nora muttered.

"Man, your ass is so haunted." Yang said to her, before turning back to Ruby. "We've got a whole new world ahead of us, Rubes."

The Longsword shook, as the shockwave from the explosion hit them. Some of the supplies stored at the walls, including weapons, ammo, food and drinks, fell over and rolled across the cold metal floor.

"Ruby..." Penny said. "Look."

She stood up, and went up to Penny, who was pointing outside. "We're in space." Behind the nearby Gas giant, the local sun, Soell, was coming out. Colorful nebulas and millions of stars were visible everywhere.

Ruby put on a small smile, and wiped her tears away. "Right. We've got a whole galaxy to explore." Everyone stepped up to her, looking outside. "And I think we only just begun."

* * *

 **And there it is, Halo CE is done. This chapter is released a bit earlier then normal, since I have summertime now, which means a lot of freetime.  
**

 **Now for something I wanted to do for quite some time: Say my opinion about the campaign that was just done. Since I had to play every level multiple times, I think it's a good idea, and something that I'll do at the end of every game.**

 **My favorite level of CE is Keyes, while my least favorite is, obviously, the Library. I have to admit, I don't really like the campaign of CE, at least when compared to other Halos. After the Library, the first levels just got reversed, and Flood added. Most of the places look the same, and the long hallways can get annoying. However, story-wise, it's great.(I don't even going to mention the OP-Magnum)  
**

 **With that done, now to some replies:**

 **rocketmce: For your first question: Not right now, though I have some ideas how HW2 could work into it all. To your second question: No, they won't, except for the last two, wimply because the Covenant wouldn't let anyone from Remnant work with them, meaning that it would just be a written version of the levels, without any twist to it.**

 **dauntingnebula7: For the most part, yes. They'll hijack the Ascendant Justice, but then things will change up a bit.**

 **Edrap: I have no idea what you mean for half of the two reviews. (Partially because I don't speak Spanish).**

 **minecraft93: To make it short: I'm hyped.**

 **red october700: Yes, it seems to be confirmed. At least it's said everywhere on the Halopedia. Still, I couldn't find someone say it in the game, and I'm not sure about the book. However, it could be that it's said in the manual, or some other form of media. As for Silva, I think that took place after the level, since the Chief needed a couple of hours to fly from the Truth to the Autumn.  
And yes, Neo would be even more interesting from the height.  
Well, the thirsty Grunt didn't appaer now, but he (and the other special Grunts) will make an appearance later on. As for my favorite mission, I already said that.  
Yes, I already answered it. They won't become Spartan IVs, since there Aura gets in the way of the surgeries, except for some basic ones like neural implants, and they are too important for the UNSC and ONI to risk.  
About RvB: Yeah, that could work. I also have the headcanon that Odd One Out from Halo: Legends is an anime inside of the Halo universe, so that could be combined. There's a chapter coming up where the teens have some freetime, and decide to look at the human culture, so it could fit in there perfectly.  
**

 **A fan: Yes, Penny can indeed turn into a plane. Just google Chapter 14 of the Manga.**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	11. Parting Ways

Chapter 11: Parting Ways

 **Soell System** **  
Longsword fighter**  
 **September 22; 2552**

It was done. Halo was destroyed. The Flood was wiped out, as well as the local Grimm population. As far as that goes, the outcome of the battle was good. Sadly, it wasn't as good of an outcome when one counts the Covenant. According to Cortana, majority of the fleet had taken cover behind Threshold, the nearby gas giant, and thus escaped the explosion. A small scout group was already on their way to the debris field.

The survivors, consisting of Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, Penny Polendina, Spartan John Sierra-117 and Corporal Bailey, have fled the Ring in a Longsword. There was enough room inside to fit them in, and they brought enough supplies to last for a pretty long time.

However, there was one problem in their plan. One no one thought about: How the hell would they get anywhere?

Sure, the Longsword was pretty fast, even in space, but nowhere fast enough to get to human space. They lacked a Slipspace drive, and were now damned to wait for rescue, or death.

"Hey, want a bite?" Nora asked Jaune, and handed him a piece of an MRE.

"No, thanks."

"You know..." Bailey said. He was sitting on the ground, checking his Sniper Rifle. According to him, Yang accidently changed the zoom when she carried the weapon on board. "We could have thought of this earlier. Especially since we have to highly intelligent AIs." He looked towards the front, where Cortanas avatar was displayed on a holotank. "Speaking of the devil, where's Penny?"

"She's downstairs." Yang explained. She and Weiss were counting the weapons they had with them. Earlier, Jaune and Ruby proposed to hijack a Covenant ship, but they pushed the idea back for now. Still, in case there wasn't any other way, they had to consider what weapons they had.

Bailey stood up, and went down into the basement. The jet was consisting of three floors: The lowest one, which had the engines inside, the middle one, where they were most of the time, and the upper one, which was home to a secondary cockpit.

What he saw downstairs surprised him. Penny was sitting close to the generator, a cable going from her back to the machine. Ruby was sitting next to her. "What's going on here?"

"I'm charging." Penny said. "Currently, I'm at 67 percent."

"I though your machines worked with dust?"

"Well, yeah. But we use it to prduce, well, electricity. Penny told me that she can use both, dust and regular electricity." Ruby explained. "Still, it wasn't easy to plug her into the generator."

"All right..." Bailey muttered. "I think I've seen everything now." He left the 'basement' and went back up, only to sit down next to Masterchief, on the second pilot seat.

The Spartan and Cortana were spending their time with searching for a way out of here. "I think I got something." Cortana said, getting everyone's attention. "I'm receiving a signal. Let me see if I can get a hold of it."

Cortanas avatar was flashing, as she went to work. A moment later, the signal appeared on the screen in the dashboard. _"I repeat: This is Warrant Officer Sheila Polaski. If there's any survivors of the explosion: Here are our coordinates."_

The data flashed on the screen, while everyone was gathering around the cockpit. "Can you contact them?" Weiss asked.

"I can try. This is UNSC-AI Cortana. Warrant Officer Polaski, please answer."

There was a short silence, until the answer came. _"Cortana? You survived? Is the Masterchief there too?"_

"Yes, we managed to get off the ring before it blew up. Are you alone?"

 _"Oh no, she's not."_ Another, familiar voice anwered.

"That's Johnson!" Ruby yelled happy.

 _"Nice to know you are alive."_ The Sergeant replied.

"But, we thought the Flood killed you." Yang pointed out.

 _"I managed to escape. Now, where's your position?"_

"Let me give you the coordinates." Cortana said.

Pyrrha was looking out the window, and saw a grey object closing in. "Uhm, I think we might crash into something."

"What?" John looked to the side, and had no problem with making out the object. "It's a cryopod." He turned the Longsword around, and opened the hangar bay, so that the pod would fly right into the jet. Everyone got out of the way, except for Yang and Nora, who tried to stop the pod from crashing into the cockpit. They managed to slow it down, and with the help of a glyph, stop it.

Through the window, they were able to see the occupant: Another Spartan.

"Is that..." Ruby muttered

"It's Linda." The Chief said, and put his hand on the window. Judging by the ice around the edges, it was still working. He looked at s small screen, checking her vitals.

"Can we let her out?" Jaune asked.

"No. She's hurt too badly. It's better if we keep her in here, until we have the means to heal her. Yang, can you give me a hand?"

The blonde nodded, and helped the Chief to turn the pod up, and shove it to the side, so it would stand at the wall.

"What now?" Ren asked.

"We'll rendesvouz with Johnson and the others." Cortana explained. "And I think we should do that fast. Covenant ship approaching. I think they're looking for survivors."

"Can we hide?"

"I'll try to get us into a slingshot orbit around Threshold's moon. That would bring us directly to Johnson." The Jet started moving, and everyone held tight to not fly through the inner parts of the Longsword.

Outside, they saw the giant ship, a CCS-battlecruiser, making its way through the debris, crushing everything in its wake. When debris hit the ship, lights were visible, indicating an energy shield.

It didn't take long to get into orbit, and approach the Pelican. Both hangars opened, and they flew towards each other, so that they could easily go from one ship to the other.

The Pelican had more survivors on board than they guessed. There were four people, including Johnson and Polaski. According to their tags, the others were named Elias Haverson, and Locklear. Judging by his armor, Locklear was an ODST.

"Well, seems like our superheroes are more resilient than I thought." Johnson said, smoking a cigar. Ruby wasn't sure if it was a good idea in such a small room.

Suddenly, Masterchief held up a Magnum, aiming at Johnson. Ren shot the pistol out of his hand before anything could happen. "What the fuck, Chief?" Yang asked.

"You know the footage. He could be infected."

"Do I look that ugly today?" The Sergeant replied.

"I think Chief may have some trauma from the Flood." Ruby said, and put herself between the two. "Nice to know you survived."

"Is there anyone else?" Locklear asked.

"Well, Penny's downstairs, but other than that, no. Not even Foehammer." Weiss explained.

"What happened to her?" Polaski asked.

"Crow Hammer crashed into a wall after she was ambushed by Nevermore." Nora explained. Everyone looked at her.

"Her name isn't even hard to remember!" Blake yelled in desperation.

"So, what now?" Jaune asked. "I assume you don't have a way to get out of this system?"

"Well, our plan with hijacking still stands." Weiss suggested. "I think we might have a big enough crew to do it."

"I like that idea." Johnson said. "Any idea which one we'll take?"

"Wait a moment." Cortana said, as she was looking through the Covenant battlenet. "I've got a candidate. The _Ascendant Justice."_ Cortana's avatar disappeared, and the hologramm of an DDS-class carrier took her place. "It's the flagship of the local Covenant fleet. If we take it, we could use it to go back into human space."

"Can we take over a ship?" Penny asked, as she went up the stairs.

"Well, it is an DDS-class carrier. It should have quite the crew, but a lot of dropships have left the ship recently. And according to the data, there are mostly Grunts and Huragok on the ship right now. Taking it over could be easy."

"And how are we going to get on board?" Yang asked, and leaned against the wall.

"We could use the Longsword." Jaune said. "They have a hangar bay, right? Then we can land in there, and make our way through the ship. As soon as we find the bridge, we take over, flee from here, and dispatch the rest of the crew."

"Sounds like a good idea." Cortana said. "Polaski? Can you do that?"

The woman shrugged. "Sure. When do we start?"

"Soon." Johnsons said. "But first." He took an object. A sign on the side made it out as an explosive, specifically a Moray Space Mine. "Help me to get those mines on the Pelican. We need to take out their Seraphs first."

"Seraphs?" Ruby asked curious.

"Fast space fighters. They are their equivalent to our Longswords." Bailey explained, and turned towards Johnson. "Are the mines enough, Sarge?"

He shrugged. "They should be."

"Won't they expect us?" Ren asked.

"Well, we could just fly the bay of the Longsword in there." Jaune suggested. "Then we jump out, clear the hangar, and make our way to the bridge."

"All right." Ruby said. "Let's do this."

* * *

 **Soell System** **  
DDS-class carrier "Ascendant Justice"**  
 **September 22; 2552**

It was way too quiet. Sure, the large explosion was just a couple of minutes ago, but he expected more. Jat 'Ferumee was stationed aboard the _Ascendant Justice_ for quite some time now, and nothing like that ever happened. Two human vessels, presumably survivors of the battle on the holy ring, appeared in front of them, and then made their way to the hangar bay.

The shipmaster of the carrier send out his Seraphs, since he feared that the demons might be on the vessels. However, one of the two, which Jat knew as a Pelican, blew up, destroying all the Seraphs at once.

Sure, that meant that the crew was dead, but there still was the second vessel. And it was acting strange. The bay of the ship was coming closer, although slowly. Then, it went into the hangar, and stayed there. Nothing happened, confusing all of them. One of the Sangheili above them quickly called the Supreme Commander of the fleet, Thel Vadamee, and asked if there were any signs of surviving Flood forms. It wouldn't have been the first case of the Flood leaving the ring, as the support ship _Infinite Succor_ was infected by the parasite, but ultimately destroyed by a Sangheili striketeam.

The Commander said that the rest of the scouting party didn't find anything indicating the Flood, which made it all even weirder.

Suddenly, the bay opened, and Grenades were thrown out. The first couple of them ripped apart a couple of Grunts, while the rest where smoke grenades. As the smoke dissipated, the hangar crew was able to see their enemy: Nine humans, ready for a battle. Behind them, the demon himself was leaving the ship.

They all opened fire, but white Glyphs stopped the Plasma, as the humans started to come close. They massacred the Grunts, and then concentrated on the Sangheili. Jat fired at one of the children, which had long, blonde hair. She turned around, and cracked her knuckles, before walking towards him. This girl was obviously an expert in close quarter combat, and Jat activated his energy dagger.

As he threw the first blow, the girl grabbed his arm, and threw him on the ground. He saw that his shield sustained damage, but he wasn't done for. Jat grabbed the girls shoulders, and headbutted her. However, it looked like her hair was burning. She rammed her elbow in his ribs, and he felt his shield breaking. The next blow broke his leg, causing the Elite to go down. He looked into the red eyes of the girl. He had to admit, at least his last opponent was a worthy one.

The girl took all her power, and punched the Elite's face in. Her fist buried itself in its skull, killing the Sangheili, and clearing the hangar.

* * *

 **Soell System** **  
DDS-class carrier "Ascendant Justice"**  
 **September 22; 2552**

The battle on the ship was going surprisingly well. The hangar was cleared out quick, and the group then started to fight their way to the bridge. Along the way, they broke up.

The Masterchief, Yang and Nora were supposed to go to the bridge, while everyone else was tasked to clear out any nearby rooms, so that no one could surprise them. Ruby was going through a hallway with Penny and Weiss, taking out every Grunt and Sangheili they saw. Before long, they went around a corner, arriving in a dead end.

And there was a strange creature in front of them. It had a blue skin, which glew a bit purple. The body of the Alien consisted of a sack, with tentacles hanging down. One of the tentacles had two rows of eyes.

And it was in fear. The tentacles of the creature were held over its head, like some sort of helmet. Although Weiss still had Myrtenaster aimed at the creature, Ruby put her weapon away, and stretched her hand out.

Slowly, she started to pet the creature's head. This wasn't an enemy. If anything, it was a civilist, caught between the two sides. It let out a purring sound.

"Ruby! Get away from that thing!" Weiss yelled.

"It's friendly. Look." Ruby hugged the creature, and it hugged back.

The heiress let her weapon down. "Okay. But if it tries anything, I'm going to kill it."

"Hello, friend!" Penny greeted the new creature, and it waved its tentacles around in panic.

They were confused, until a sword cut through the air behind them. A Sangheili had used the confusion to sneak up on them. Weiss quickly attacked it with Myrtenaster, until its shield broke. Penny finished the Alien by pinning it to the wall with her swords.

The new alien flew up to the dead Elite, and took its helmet, only to take out a small device, which it put on its head. "Hello." It greeted them by waving its tentacles around.

"Uhm... What?" Ruby asked.

"I am using the translation device of the Sangheili." The being said. The voice was strangely metallic, and they were sure it was due to the device. "My name is Flies Low. I am a Huragok, and part of this ships crew." It explained. "I think your people call my species Engineer."

"Hello. I'm Ruby Rose. This is Weiss Schnee, and this is Penny Polendina."

"Nice to meet you. Thanks for taking over this ship. Our masters didn't treat us very well." He explained.

"Wow, so your don't like the Covenant either?" Weiss asked. She still had Myrtenaster in her hand, just in case.

"Indeed. We Huragok are nothing more than mere slaves to the Prophets. Every opportunity to leave the Covenant, and to set things right, is welcome. At least to me."

Ruby wanted to hear more, but was interrupted as a transmission came through. _"Yang here. We took the bridge. Come here, please."_

Ruby nodded, and shut her radio off. "Come on, they want to see us on the bridge."

"Uhm, Ruby? You sure they won't shoot our new friend?" Penny asked.

"If they try, I'm gonna disarm them." She replied, and they started to got to the bridge.

As soon as they entered, everyone stared at Flies Low. "What the fuck is one of those things doing here?" Bailey asked.

"He's friendly!" Ruby yelled, and put herself in front of the creature, together with Weiss and Penny. From the looks of it, Johnson, The Chief, Pyrrha and Ren were the only ones that were not on their guard.

"I don't want to take any risks." Bailey said, and aimed his Sniper Rifle at the Huragok.

"Calm down, Marine." Johnson stopped him. "They aren't dangerous."

Knowing that he couldn't go against his commanding officer, Bailey put his Sniper down. "Can we get on with it?"

"Right." Cortana said. "This is our next goal." A hologramm of a planet appeared in the middle of the room. "Reach. We're going to look for survivors."

"Wait, I thought we wanted to go to Earth?" Ruby asked. All of her friends nodded.

"Well, yes. But we need to visit Reach first." Locklear explained.

"If I may." Johnson said, and gestured to the teens. "As far as I'm concerned, our friends here are highly important cargo, right?"

"I'd say so." Cortana agreed.

The Sergeant turned towards the Huragok. "Do you have a leftover Slipspace drive here?"

"Of course. Every Ship of this size has a second one, in case the first one gets destroyed." The Huragok explained cheery. At least they guessed that, since the translator didn't gove of any emotions. But it was wiggling its tentacles around like some sort of excited squid.

"Can you put it inside a Longsword?"

Slowly, the plan started to take form. While the Chief would take the Marines and visit Reach, Team RWBY, JNPR and Penny would use the modified Longsword to go back to Earth. Thus, the risk of everyone dying would be lower, and they could reach Earth sooner than expected.

"Of course I can. I just have to re-route some power into it." The Huragok explained, and left the bridge, so that he could start working on it.

Suddenly, the whole ship shook. "What's going on?" Nora yelled. Everyone had to hold tight so that they wouldn't fall over.

"The Covenant is shooting at us!" Cortana exclaimed. "Hold on, this is gonna be a bit risky."

"What are you doing?" Bailey asked.

"I'm going to drive us into the gravity well of the gas giant. Maybe this will give us some time." They felt the whole ship shaking, as it entered the upper atmosphere of the planet. "Okay, it looks like the Covenant's slipspace technology is far greater than ours. I'm gonna try something."

They felt how everything seemed to fall apart. Their stomachs started hurting, and for a moment, gravity was gone, only to be there again. Ruby and her friends nearly had to puke.

"First jump, eh?" Johnson mocked them with a smile. As soon as everything calmed down, he turned to Cortana. "Did we escape?"

"We're save. And in Slipspace. I can't believe it. This has to be the first successful in-atmosphere-jump in history."

* * *

 **Slipspace** **  
DDS-class carrier "Ascendant Justice"; Hangar**  
 **September 23; 2552**

"I hope you survive." Ruby said, and hugged John. Flies Low managed to install the Slipspace drive inside the Longsword, which took a couple of hours. Time they used to get some well deserved sleep. After they woke up, and the news came in that the Huragok managed to do it, they started to put supplies on the ship, hoping that they could reach Earth.

Cortana and Penny made some calculations, and estimated that the travel to humanity's homeworld should take around ten days, thanks to the Covenants superior technology.

The Longsword was also heavily modified to allow the journey. They installed an extra reactor, to provide the power necessary for a jump. For the calculations, they decided to plug Penny into the jet. Sure, she didn't have the same processing power as Cortana, but it was still more than enough.

Even Flies Low voluntered to go with them, and considering that he was the only one who could actually repair any damage, they agreed.

"Ruby! Come on!" Yang yelled from the Longsword. Behind her, Weiss and Blake were waiting. JNPR was already on board, just as the Huragok and Penny.

"I'm coming!" Ruby wanted to go, but was stopped by Johnson.

"Listen, kid. When you arrive at Earth, ONI, and the UNSC are going to ask you questions. Try not to say anything that could bring you in danger."

"Understood."

"Also, good to have you and your friends on our side."

Ruby smiled, and nodded. With that, she ran up into the Longsword, and the bay closed. The jet was slowly gliding out of the hangar, and jumped.

"So, you fougth with 'em. You think they'll manage to do it?" Johnson asked the Chief.

"Sir, I'm sure they'll arrive save." With that, they all left the Hangar, going back to the bridge, and setting course for Reach.

* * *

 **And here's Chapter eleven, the first part of the intermission between HCE and H2.**

 **I tried to mix the events of First Strike up a bit, partially because I haven't read the book in a long time. For the next couple of Chapters, the Chief won't be around, and it will exclusively focus on RWBY, JNPR, Penny and Flies Low.**

 **And now to replies:**

 **rocketmce: I don't really have an opinion on the mod, since I have only played Halo on the XBox, and haven't really watched much of the mod. But I've heard a lot of great things about it.**

 **Edrap: Never. It's gonna be somewhat of a joke from time to time that the teams try to see him without his helmet, but fail somehow. As for his past, yes, they'll learn later on.**

 **Plasma Dragon 312: Yes, Penny is, technically, an AI. But I'd say that due to her special properties (Having a soul for example), rampancy either isn't a problem, or takes longer.**

 **sonicXben: Yes, they'll take part in Halo 2 and 3 (Like I said multiple times). But they won't get back to Remnant during the battle of the Ark. As for your OCs, I already got a lot of requests, and I'm still in the process of looking if they fit into the story somewhere.**

 **red october700: Well, I tried to mix it up a bit with Ruby saying the lines in a different manner.  
Sure, they could be, when they actually meet Fred and Kelly. Their further education will mainly be on Earth's history and military tactics. Of course, they'll still train against each other with their fighting styles, and try to teach the UNSC some stuff as well. (For example, there is a sparring match planned between Yang and John.) **

**A fan: Yes, there is a RWBY manga. As for how it worked there, if I recall correctly, Penny used her swords to form wings.**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	12. Boarded

Chapter 12: Boarded

 **Slipspace** **  
Longsword fighter**  
 **September 24; 2552**

They had to admit, this wasn't what they were expecting. The teens expected to see the wonders of space. Nebulas, gas giants, remains of supernovae and other breathtaking objects. But the Slipspace travel was nothing like that. The only thing they saw outside was blackness, with a couple of purple or dark blue streams here and there.

Even though the travel was way faster than any other means, it would still take days. And the couple of hours that already passed had been boring as hell. The only thing keeping them going were the games on their Scrolls, which Flies Low luckily modified, so that they could use the generator of the Longsword to charge them.

At least they had enough food, even if most of them were the disgusting MREs.

Ren was spending his time with a little wooden toy they found aboard the _Ascendant Justice_. It was a round object, consisting of four spheres. According to the Huragok, those objects were called Arum, and where toys used by the Sangheili to teach the younglings the value of patience. Still, sometimes adult Sangheili used their freetime to try it out. One had to align the spheres in the right order, to release a little prize. Ren, who always like those kinds of games, was intrigued by it.

Yang on the other had did something more practical. She was trying out different ways to fit Shotgun Shells into Ember Celica, without any success. The same was going on with Nora and Magnhild. She'd need some special grenades, just like Yang would need special shells. They hoped that the UNSC could provide them with ammo.

Penny was sitting in the front, making the necessary adjustments to ensure their save travel. Luckily, she had help from Flies Low.

Pyrrha and Jaune were in the secondary Cockpit, training with each other, so that they would not get out of shape.

Ruby and Weiss were counting their supplies. A boring, but necessary duty. They had quite a lot of weapons with them, including UNSC and Covenant weapons. They even had the Sentinel Beam Nora brought along from Halo. Thanks to Weiss, they also had some vials of Dust left, and they hoped that ONI would find a way to get them to work. Especially Weiss was hoping for that, since her Semblance and weapon were relying on Dust the most.

"Everyone! Hold onto something! We have to leave Slipspace for a moment!" Penny yelled, and everyone tried not to fall over, as the Longsword left Slipspace. It was their second jump, and their stomachs still haven't gotten used to it.

Johnson and Cortana warned them of this. Sometimes, there were storms inside Slipspace, which meant that vessels had to leave it to not get destroyed. Or worse. It should only take a short time though.

"Huh. Can someone come here for a moment, please?" Penny asked, and Ruby walked up to her, together with Ren. "We got some sort of message." Penny said, and pressed a button on the dashboard.

 _"I repeat: This is Captain Shioka of the UNSC Unboardable. We've got attacked by a Covenant ship, and need immediate assistance. Here are our coordinates. We're carrying important goods."_

Penny pressed the button again, and the message stopped. "What do you think?"

"Let's investigate that." Ruby suggested.

"You think that's a good idea?" Yang asked. "What if it's a trap?"

"Doubtful." Flies Low said. "Judging by the voice of the Captain, it was a genuine request."

"All right." Ruby said. "Penny, bring us to the ship. We'll help them."

"A regular starship should be faster than our current vehicle. Our Slipspace drive is only working at 50 percent right now." The Huragok added.

"Okay." Ruby muttered, and waited until they were in the vicinity of the ship.

As they came closer, the ship became visible. Overall, it looked like the _Pillar of Autumn_. Two longer sections stuck out in the front. The name _'UNSC Unboardable'_ was printed on the side with large, white letters. Across the hull, they were able to see multiple scorch marks, revealing that the ship was recently in a battle.

Ruby took their speaker as soon as they were in reach, but Weiss took it from her. "Hey!"

"I think I'm better suited for this." The heiress said. " _UNSC Unboardable?_ Here is Weiss Schnee. Can we come onboard? We could probably help you with your problems."

"Wow. That was definitely up to code." Ruby said sarcastically.

 _"Weiss Schnee?"_ The ship replied. _"All right. Drive to the Hangar bay, we'll meet you there."_

Penny and Flies Low moved the Longsword to said place, and entered the ship.

* * *

 **Interstellar Space** **  
UNSC Stalwart-class frigate "Unboardable"**  
 **September 24; 2552**

As they flew into the hangar, parts of the ship's crew were already gathered around. The bay of the Longsword slowly opened, and the teenagers were able to see the surprised faces of the crew. Whatever they were expecting, it wasn't nine teenagers and a former Covenant soldier.

Ruby looked around, and noticed a lot of machines standing around, all covered by blankets. Two Pelicans stood inside the hangar, ready to start, and the engineers and other workers were busy with checking all the equipment. Overall, the inside looked a lot like the _Autumn_ , meaning that the walls, ceilings and floors were made out of metal, with warning signs everywhere.

"Uhm, who of you is Weiss Schnee?" One of the humans, an older man with gray hair, asked.

Weiss stepped forward. "That would be me."

"I'm sorry." One of the crewmen, a young woman, stepped forward. "But those are just children and an Engineer. I highly doubt that they'll help us with our problem." She took a good look at the teens. "In all honesty, it looks like they just came from the ComiConKet."

"What's the problem anyway?" Pyrrha asked, ignoring the jab from the female. Her nameshield read the name 'Dubois'.

"Well, we're a commercial vessel. Currently, we're carrying some experimental weapons for Hannibal Weapon systems. However, after our last jump, we ran into a small Covenant scout ship. It seemed like they were a bit cocky, and they attacked us." The old man explained. Judging by his voice, he was the Captain they spoke with earlier. "We managed to destroy their scout ship, but not before a couple of Brutes and Jackals managed to board us."

Everyone looked at him. "Yes, I am painfully aware of the irony. We managed to lock them inside of the area they came in from, but it's only a question of time until they break through. And if that happens, we're all as good as dead."

"Don't you have any weapons?" Nora asked.

"Like I said, this ship isn't outfitted for any big combat situation. This ship is used to carry around cargo for ONI, or big companies. We're only outiftted for small engagements with pirates or scout vessels. Also, the room they're locked in is our armory."

Ruby walked over to one of the objects in the hangar. She grabbed the blanket, and took it away. Under it was a two-legged robot, outfitted with two heavy weapons: Some sort of rocket launcher, and a chaingun. It was painted blue and orange. A label on it identified the mech as a 'HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Mantis, Hannibal prototype'.

"Sadly, no. Those are highly experimental. Also, they are the prototypes we are supposed to bring to Earth." The Captain explained. "They don't even have any software installed yet."

"We want to get to Earth too!" Penny threw in.

"I can understand that, but with Covenant troops on board, there is no way we can enter human space. Especially the Sol System. And I highly doubt that you can help us.

Nora grinned, and took out Magnhild. Everyone's eyes widened. "Are you sure we can't handle that?"

"Cosplay props won't kill Brutes." The woman explained. "Trust me, I've tried."

"Okay, let's settle it like that." Yang said. "Send a couple of Marines to fight us. When we win, we'll try, okay?"

"No way!" The woman yelled, but the Captain put a hand in front of her.

"They are obviously determined. Okay, I'm going to call in three of the Marines stationed on this ship. Who of you wants to try?"

They all looked at Pyrrha. "What? Why me?"

"You're the least likely to accidently kill them." Ren explained.

"All right." Pyrrha took her shield, but kept her spear on her back. "Bring it on."

The crew led them to a small training room, where three Marines were already waiting. Pyrrha went in, and looked at the three. "Okay, let's set some rules: No killing, and not cutting off any body parts. When someone is on the ground for more than three seconds, then he is defeated."

One of the Marines laughed. "Okay, missie. I just want you to know that I have fought on five different worlds, so don't think I'll take this easy."

Pyrrha smiled. "I don't want you to."

The Captain took the microphone in the observation room. "Okay. Three. Two. One. Begin!"

The Marines charged forward, but Pyrrha managed to grab their arms, and throw two of them on the ground. It knocked one out instantly, but the other one got up again. He tried to land a punch, but Pyrrha dodged or blocked all of them, befor kicking him, causing him to fall over.

The last Marine gritted his teeth. "What are you? Some sort of Spartan?"

"No, just a huntress." She threw her shield, hitting him into the stomach. He flew into a wall, and fell unconssciuos.

"I can't believe it." Shioka said over the mic. "Pyrrha Nikos won!"

Ruby turned towards him. "And? Do you still think we can't take the Covenant on?"

He looked down. "All right. A deal is a deal."

* * *

Team RWBY, JNPR and Penny approached the armory. The door was heavily fortified, partially with its weight, and partially with crates and barricades that have been stacked in front of it. Pyrrha used her Semblance to put the junk out of the way.

RWBY put themselves on the right side of the door, while JNPR took the left. Penny went on the right side with RWBY. An engineer went up to a panel on the wall, and held up three fingers. Then two. Then one.

The door opened, and shots instantly soared through the air. To their surprise, they weren't plasma, but rather long spikes, made out of metal. Ruby took a peek inside, and saw an entirely new species: Jiralhanae.

They were big, and furry, like big apes. Their hands ended in long, sharp claws. One of those monsters was enough to rip apart a Beowolf. There were six Brutes, five of which carried short guns with two blades attached to them. The last one, presumably their leader, was equipped with a giant hammer. The only armor they had were strips of leather and metal across their bodies. If Ruby didn't already know that they were part of the Covenant, she would have never guessed that.

They charged in, and Yang instantly engaged one of the Brutes. She tried to punch him, but the Alien catched her fist, and threw her on the ground. Yang stood back up, and kicked the surprised Brute into the stomach. Thanks to her strength, this actually hurt the Brute, and he spat out spit. She took her M90, and finsihed the Alien off.

Meanwhile, Jaune and Pyrrha were taking on another Brute. The ape managed to grab Jaune's shield, and lift him up. However, Pyrrha used her Semblance on the Brutes limited armor, and crushed the giant with it. Purple blood spilled out of the wounds.

Weiss and Ruby were taking on another one, who was taken down fairly quickly, thanks to their combination of Glyphs and Rubys Semblance.

The second to last Brute was taken out by Ren and Blake, while the fifth one tried to sneak up on Nora, only to have his head crushed under her hammer.

Now, the only remaining Brute was the one with the hammer. He instanly went after Yang, who received the massive hammer into her stomach. Waves of gravity left the hammer, and threw her into a wall. She spit blood, and passed out. Ruby shot at the giant, but the shot was blocked by an energy shield.

The monster growled, and jumped, only to hit the ground in front of Ruby. The gravity waves send her flying, and she used her Semblance to not end up like her sister.

Suddenly, a crate hit the Jiralhanae. Pyrrha used her Semblance to take the Chieftain under fire, and the monster took cover behind a small wall. Nora ran around the corner, and surprised the Brute. This enabled her to hit him with Magnhild, and to throw the Jiralhanae back a bit.

With the Alien out in the open, Ren took it under fire, and broke its shield. However, the Brute started to glow blue, and charged in, knocking Ren out with one hit.

"What's going on?" Blake asked.

"It activated a invincibility. His shields are in overcharge. No matter what you do, it won't hurt him." One of the Marines explained.

Blake looked back at the Brute, as it was engaging Weiss. She created a glyph to stop the hammer. It worked, but the gravity waves still came through, sending Weiss flying.

Blake threw the ribbon of Gambol Shroud at the Brute, and it wrapped itself around his legs. The Brute fell down, and everyone who was still standing went in. Blake, Jaune and Penny stabbed the Jiralhanae in his legs, so that he wouldn't be able to get up again. Then, Nora jumped into the air, and crushed his head under Magnhild.

Brains and red blood splattered everywhere.

Ruby helped Yang up, and led her to the dead Brute.

"What were those things?" Yang asked. Her nose was bleeding, indicating that the attack of the Jiralhanae broke her Aura.

"Brutes. Big, bad, smell horrible." One of the Marines explained. "You never heard of them?"

"Well, it's complicated." Ruby said.

Nora picked up the Gravity Hammer, and looked at it. "You think I can integrate this Gravity thingy into Magnhild?"

"Maybe. I can help you, if you want." Ruby suggested.

"Can I ask you something?" The Marined interrupted, and looked at Yang. "How the hell did you not get turned into a puddle when you got hit?"

"We'll explain on the bridge. Come on." Jaune said, and everyone followed him.

* * *

The bridge of the ship looked similiar to the one on the _Autumn._ Computers stood along the walls, projectors and screens were visible everywhere, and a starmap was projected in front of the Captain's seat. Big windows allowed a view into the far reaches of space.

The teams already explained their story to the Captain and the crew, and gave them some time to process that information. "And now you want to visit Earth?"

Ruby nodded. "We need to meet up with the UNSC."

"All right. You can come with us. You saved our asses." Dubois said. "Just watch out that your Huragok doesn't try anything."

"Don't worry." Flies Low answered. "I'm a peaceful pacifist."

"Wait, this isn't illegal?" Nora asked. Everyone looked at her.

"What is illegal?"

"Ya know, loving children."

"Nora, he said pacifist. What you mean is a pedophile." Ren explained.

"Oh, whoops. But yeah, he isn't dangerous."

"Well, I'll tell the staff to ready some rooms for you. Enjoy your stay on the ship. In case you want to educate yourself on the UNSC, we have a good amount of movies, shows and books stored in our ship computers. A plan with dinner time and a layout of the ship will be in your rooms." He gave Ruby the hand. "Thanks for helping us out."

"Don't mention it." Ruby said. "After all, it is our job."

* * *

 **And Chapter twelve is up.**

 **I decided to make the Brutes a bit more of a challenge, since they are a lot stronger than the Sangheili. (One nearly beat the Masterchief in hand to hand combat).**

 **And in case anyone is wondering why there's a Mantis on the ship, canonically, they have been in service since 2548, but only became widespread after the war. And I think it isn't unthinkable that Hannibal was developing their versions of vehicles during the late months of the war already.**

 **Now to replies:**

 **Plasma Dragon 312: Yes, they will. Halo 2 and 3 will happen.**

 **dauntingnebula7: Well, it's faster to get her to Reach in a big ship, than in a full Longsword. Also, Linda being on Reach is pretty important, since it is impervious to the events of Ghosts of Onyx, which won't be featured, but will still happen in the backround.  
**

 **red october700: Like I said, I haven't read the book in a long time, and it is pretty old, so a lot of the pages are in bad shape. Reading through it multiple times wasn't something I had the time for, so I settled on only using the Skirmish above Threshold, and then something different. And yeah, they have the authorization keys.**

 **Edrap: It was a planet. The moons of Reach are called Turul and Csodaszarvas. (And yes, I copy and pasted that last name from Halopedia.). As for Noble Team references, they'll be referenced later on anyway. It also sounds like you think I'm in the camp of 'Noble Six could still be alive'. Trust me, I know he's dead. (Canonically, six is a man). I don't think the Aura would reject a neural implant, and they're in fact supposed to get one each. (Except for Penny). Compared to the surgery needed for Spartan-Augmentations, an implant is pretty minor.**

 **Rebounder1904: Obviously, it will follow RWBY and JNPR to Earth. And they wouldn't find any alive Noble members anyway, since they're all dead as fuck, except for Jun.**

 **A fan: What the... Which game has a first boss you have to farm side bosses for?**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	13. Culture Shock

Chapter 13: Culture Shock

 **Slipspace** **  
UNSC Stalwart-class frigate "Unboardable"; Ruby's cabin**  
 **September 25; 2552**

Ruby woke up in her cabin. She had to admit, the beds weren't very comfortable. The girl looked around in her cabin, and sat on the side of the bed. According to the crew, every cabin was the same. A metal bed, a wardrobe to store clothes, and a small desk with a chair.

She sat on the side of her bed, and took a small device that was next to her. A Datapad, how the Captain called it. A device similiar to a scroll. However, the ones they had were only temporary, and they'd hopefully receive their own ones at Earth. Sadly, they found out that their scrolls wouldn't work, since Remnant and the UNSC used entirely different codes and frequencies at a basic level. It would need a lot of reprogramming to get them to work, to a point where just using Datapads was way easier.

Sadly, she didn't have time to look at the stuff that was stored in the network last evening, since she was too tired and fell right into bed. However, she had a couple of ideas what to watch. Ruby heard the Marines back at Alpha Base, as well as around the ship, talking about some movies and series that sounded interesting.

Suddenly, it knocked on her door. "Come in!"

The door opened with a hiss, and Yang entered. "Did you sleep well?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Those beds aren't comfortable, but at least better than the floor of a Longsword. What are you doing today?"

Yang shrugged. "I was thinking about watching a movie. Or finally eat something real in the mess hall. And you?"

"I'm not sure yet. On one side, I'd like to watch something, but I also still have my promise to Jaune." She reached into her pocket, and pulled out the handle of an Energy Sword, the one she grabbed back when they rescued Keyes. "I've seen some stuff in the armory, and I think I may be able to do it here."

"If you're searching for Jaune, he's not in his room." Yang explained.

"What? Where is he?"

* * *

 **Slipspace** **  
UNSC Stalwart-class frigate "Unboardable"; Mess hall**  
 **September 25; 2552**

"Jaune, aren't you overdoing it?" Nora asked. Team JNPR was sitting at one of the tables inside the mess hall, and ate breakfast. For a spaceship, they had surprisingly normal food. Bread, sausages, vegetables. Even cereal. And Jaune was eating the food like a master. To an extent, that even Nora was worried.

"No, I'm not." He said with a full mouth. "I only had MREs for a week. I need something that doesn't taste like sludge."

"I understand that." Ren said. "But you shouldn't get out of shape. Also, I'd like to visit the cook later on. He may learn some things from me."

"Nora is missing the pancakes, isn't she?" Pyrrha asked.

"Duh. Pancakes are the backbone of my diet." Nora explained. "By the way, has anyone of you seen Flies Low? He promised me to help with Magnhild."

They all exchanged confused looks. "I don't know." Pyrrha answered. "Maybe he's in the hangar?"

Their eyes turned towards Jaune, as he ate an entire toast with two bites. "Jesus Christ dude, turn it down a bit!" One of the other occupants in the mess hall yelled.

"Anyway..." Pyrrha started. "Does anyone want to look around the ship with me? I think we should know our way around."

"Sorry. I wanted to look for Dubois." Jaune said. "I wanted to ask her about something she mentioned yesterday."

"I can't either." Nora stated. "I really want to modify Magnhild."

"And I want to have a talk with the cook." Ren added.

Pyrrha sighed. "Okay."

* * *

 **Slipspace** **  
UNSC Stalwart-class frigate "Unboardable"; Hangar bay**  
 **September 25; 2552**

"Be careful with that stuff!" Weiss yelled. She was overlooking the engineers with their work on the Longsword. With the Jet no longer needed, they wanted to use some parts of it to repair the _Unboardable._ In turn, they wanted to take the Dust vials to a safer room. Right now, they were some of the most valuable things on board, if not the most valuable.

"Can't we take a break?" One of the workers asked.

"Not yet. We still have to get a lot of weapons off that ship." Weiss said.

"Damn Ice Queen." One of them muttered, and started to work again.

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" Weiss asked annoyed, and looked at the Mantis standing on the side. "Hey, what is this Hannibal Corporation anyway?"

"A manufacturer of weapons and vehicles, based on New Carthage." One of the engineers explained.

"And does the name mean anything?"

"Of course. It's named after the infamous Hannibal, one of the greatest military leaders in our history."

"Really? Why was he so geat?"

"Well, for one, he managed to cross the alps with war elephants."

"Uhm, and what are the alps?" Weiss asked. She wasn't sure if the engineers didn't know that she was from another dimension, or if they just forgot it from time to time. But at least they also had Elephants here.

"The biggest mountain range in Europe, on Earth." He explained.

"And he crossed that thing with Elephants?" Weiss muttered impressed. She had to admit, there were quite the feats in human history here. She only looked over the history for a short time, but she already managed to see some insane stuff. From crossing a giant mountain range with Elephants, to small states conquering half a continent, up to pushing into the far reaches of space.

However, she also noticed that there were a lot more wars than on Remnant. For centuries, since the earliest history, Humanity has fought each other. That was propably the result of the lack of a common enemy. While there were the Grimm on Remnant, there was no such uniting threat here. Until the Covenant arrived that is.

Reading about the rich history actually made Weiss even more intent on defeating the Covenant. She didn't want to let it end like this, overrun by a superior foe.

She was ripped out of her thoughts, as something behind her broke. She turned around, and saw that one of the engineers dropped a, thankfully empty, dust vial. "Be careful!" He nodded, and quickly went back to work. Luckily, Weiss' family had shown her how to get their employees to work.

* * *

 **Slipspace** **  
UNSC Stalwart-class frigate "Unboardable"; Hallways**  
 **September 25; 2552**

"There she is." Jaune said, as he spotted Dubois walking around the ship. He ran towards her. "Hey, Miss Dubois?"

She turned around. "Oh, Mr. Arc. Can I help you somehow?"

"It's about yesterday."

"I'm sorry about being so harsh."

"Not, that's not it. You said we came from something called ComiConKet. What is this?"

It looked like that question surprised her. "Huh? We are in a war against a superior alien empire, and that's what you're interested in?"

"Sure. I love comics." Jaune said, a bit embarassed.

"Well, the ComiConKet is the largest convention in the galaxy." Dubois explained. "It started around 2123. Two of the largest conventions on Earth fused, and created this new Convention."

"And what is it about?"

"Creators show off their new products, fans come in costumes, or sell their own creations as a circle." She explained.

"Sounds like something we have back on Remnant." Jaune said, and wanted to explain their version of the event, as Ruby approached him.

"Hey, can I borrow Crocea Mors for a while?"

"What? Why?" Jaune asked.

"Well, remember the Energy Sword I wanted to integrate into it?"

"Oh, right." Jaune took his sword, and gave it to Ruby. "Please don't break it."

"Don't worry." Ruby said smiling.

"Wait, you want to integrate an Energy Sword into that?" Dubois asked in shock. "Dealing with Covenant weaponry is highly illegal."

"Don't see it as trading. See it as an upgrade." Ruby said with an innocent smile, and dashed off, leaving behind rose pedals.

Dubois sighed, and opened her Datapad. "I hope I can find a loop hole to allow that."

* * *

 **Slipspace** **  
UNSC Stalwart-class frigate "Unboardable"; Mess Hall**  
 **September 25; 2552**

"Hey Blake." Yang said, as she entered the mess hall. Blake was sitting at a table, and was reading a book. At first, it surprised Yang that physical books still existed, but someone on the ship explained to her that a lot of people still admired having a physical copy to put into a shelf.

"Hi."

"What are you reading?" Yang asked, and sat down.

Blake looked up. "It's about the Rainforest wars. Something that took place hundreds of years ago."

"Aren't you normally reading romances and so on? I've never seen you read a military novel." Yang said, and ate a bite of her bread.

"Well, I thought it might be a good idea to inform myself about human history. And this sounded like a big event." Blake explained. "Aren't you doing anything like this?"

"Well..." Yang took her Datapad. "I've marked some shows I want to watch." Yang showed Blake the library. "What do you think of Odd one Out?"

"Uhm, is that the Masterchief?" Blake noticed. On the cover, there was a Spartan, ready to engage a giant Brute in a fist-fight.

"According to the summary, it's about a Spartan. I guess they all wear the same armor. Except for Linda." Yang said, and looked more through the movies she had.

"I wonder how many are left..." Blake muttered.

"Why is the Chief so strong anyway?" Yang asked. "I mean, he is taller than an average human, stronger and way more deadly."

Blake shrugged. "Maybe he had some sort of augmentation? It wouldn't surprise me. One of the engineers has a mechanical arm."

"But why would they only augment him? I mean, if anyone had them, the Covenant wouldn't be winning."

"I highly doubt that a couple of supersoldiers could do anything against a Covenant ship." Blake pointed out. "When you can't win in space, your groundtroops are useless."

"Do you have that from the book?"

The Faunus nodded. "Not from this one. There was one called the 'Keyes Loop'."

"Like in Captain Keyes? The guy that got turned into a Flood form?"

"Exactly that one. I shouldn't have been surprised, but he really is a tactical genius. Or was."

There was an awkward silence, as both somewhat mourned the demise of Keyes. "Hey, what about this one?" Yang showed her some sort of Cartoon.

"What is this?"

"It's called Boku no pico. It's really old." Suddenly, one of the Marines on the ship ran in, grabbed her Datapad, and deleted all the files.

"Don't. Ever. Watch. That." He said, and left again.

"What the fuck happened just now?" Yang muttered.

* * *

 **Slipspace** **  
UNSC Stalwart-class frigate "Unboardable"; Armory**  
 **September 27; 2552**

It has been about two days on the ship by now, and Team RWBY, as well as Team JNPR, were slowly getting acquainted to the crew. Ren's tips for the cook greatly improved the food in the mess hall, and he was spending a lot of time inside the kitchen.

Yang had already watched a large amount of the shows the ship had to offer, and was now spending time inside the training room, so that she wouldn't get out of shape. However, that also meant that a lot of the training machines broke, due to Yang's overwhelming strength.

After a recent chat between the two, Yang and Blake had asked Ruby if she had any theories about why Chief was so strong. It got somewhat cleared up though, as a nearby crewman told them that a rumor was going around, according to which the Spartans were obducted and augmented as kids.

While it would certainly explain their strength, none of them wanted to believe such a thing, except for Yang.

As for Nora, she was often in the Armory, together with Ruby. Even though Flies Low promised to help them, the Captain wanted to use the chance to make some necessary repairs to the ship.

But even without him, it was working out. Nora managed to get the gravity generator out of the weapon, and was currently looking for a way to integrate it into Magnhild, without loosing the ability to shoot grenades.

Ruby had a bit more of a problem. The basic functionality of the Energy Sword was surprisingly simple: It emitted Plasma, which was held in shape by a magnetic field. However, the problem was with putting it in Jaune's sword. She would have to modify the magnetic field, and thus the form of the blades. And she had no idea how to do that. And that was only one of the problems she encountered.

The fact that the armory was in bad shape after the fight against the Brutes, and that they lacked any advanced tools, made it even harder.

"How's it going?" Weiss asked as she entered the armory.

"It could go better." Ruby said. "Do you know where Penny is? I haven't seen her the whole day."

"I think she accidently stumbled into some sort of Church on the ship."

Ruby looked up. "Church?"

"Yeah, apparently every ship has places where people can live out their religion."

"And how did that end?" Nora asked.

"Well, they gave her something called the Bible. Penny analysed it, and picked apart all the inconsistencies." Weiss explained. "Needless to say, she was thrown out."

"And then?" Ruby asked.

"And then she started to repeat the same thing with all the other holy books and religions." Weiss said with a smile.

"You seem amused by it." Nora pointed out.

"Don't worry. It was just interesting to see." Weiss explained. "Like a car crash. You don't wanna look, but you have to. By the way, how is Magnhild coming along?"

"Good. I just need to integrate the gravity thing into it. As for the power supply, I'm probably going to use my Semblance for that."

"And that's exactly my problem." Ruby said. "The magnetic generator of the sword, as well as the plasma emitter, are surprisingly small. They'd fit into the handle perfectly. The power supply, however, is too big. And even if, I don't know how to charge it. According to Flies Low, those things only have a charge of ten swings, and when I'd cut it down to a smaller size, it'd be only four, maybe five, swings."

"You'll do it." Weiss said, and put her hand on Rubys shoulder. "After all, you built Crescend Rose, didn't you?"

"Right."

* * *

 **Slipspace** **  
UNSC Stalwart-class frigate "Unboardable"; Armory**  
 **October 09; 2552**

"Here it is." Ruby said, and gave Jaune his sword back. Ruby, Nora, Jaune, Flies Low and Pyrrha were in the armory, and got some help from one of the Marines.

He looked at his weapon, and noticed the slightly bigger handle. There now was a button on the shaft, and he pressed it. Two blue Plasma blades came to live, going along the edges of the normal blade. It made the sword look like some sort of trident. "Nice."

The Marine brought a dummy. "Come on, try it out."

He looked at the dummy, and swung his sword. It cut right through the plastic, leaving the edges of the cut burned and scorched. A little display on his Sword showed that the Sword had eight charges left. "How do I charge it?"

"Just give it to me." Nora said. She was holding her now modified Magnhild. It's head was bigger than previously, and the lights of the gravity generator were clearly visible. "Now, let me try."

Jaune stepped to the side, and Nora hit the dummy with her hammer, pressing a button in the process. A wave of gravity left the hammer, shattering the dummy completely. "Oh, yeah. The Covenant can get ready for an ass-kicking."

"Did you upgrade your stuff too?" Pyrrha asked.

"Nah." Ruby said. "It was hard enough to get the blades in form for Jaune's sword. Even for Flies Low."

"Precisely." The Huragok agreed. "Getting it to follow a scythe blade is too hard, even for me."

"And Blake?"

"She didn't want to. The light the plasma emmits would give away her position." Ruby said.

"So, we've go upgraded weapons, have gotten used to the culture a bit..." Jaune said.

"For better or worse." Ruby interrupted him. "Yang has started to quote this Red vs Blue series."

Jaune sheathed his sword. "Anyways, I think we're ready to arrive on Earth."

* * *

 **Sol-System, Orbit above Earth** **  
UNSC Stalwart-class frigate "Unboardable"; Observation Deck**  
 **October 16; 2552**

Finally, the travel to Earth was over. The ship was preparing to leave Slipspace, and they'd arrive right above Earth. The teams had gathered on the Observation deck, to see humanity's homeworld with their own eyes.

The deck, however, was a bit frightening in its own. Overall, it was a glass cube on the outside of the ship, which meant that they stood on glass, and weren't able to see the floor.

"What do you think it will look like?" Penny asked excited.

"Probably like Remnant." Blake said. "Just with a lot more spaceships around."

"Didn't Cortana mention that the moon isn't broken?" Ruby asked.

Suddenly, everything shook, and reality crumbled under them, only to repair itself again. After the initial aftermath of the jump was over, they were finally able to see it.

Earth.

White clouds were hanging above deep blue oceans, disrupted by green and brown continents. Big masses of light indicated giant cities. There were Spaceships and Orbital platforms everywhere. But aside from that, it looked a lot like Remnant, only with different continents. Six giant structures were going into orbit from the surface, and they guessed that those were the famous Space Elevators they heard much about.

"Wow." Ruby muttered. "We're here." Behind the Earth, the Moon was going up. Massive cities were visible on it.

Everyone nodded, and looked down, as a massive ship flew past.

* * *

 **And Chapter 13 is here.**

 **I've decided to make a more peaceful Chapter, so that RWBY and Co. could get familiar with human culture in the Halo Universe. (Which is sadly not a much discussed matter in the Halo Franchise, even though it is interesting.)**

 **If anyone wonders, Halo 2 is gonna start with Chapter 15. The next one is mainly going to be interviews with ONI.**

 **Now to replies:**

 **minecraft93: Not for now, but I'm still debating if I should do something with HW2.**

 **rocketmce: Yes, two other characters are gonna meet him. (Of course, a lot more will interact with the Gravemind during Halo 3.)**

 **Obsidian: Don't worry about A fan. He's just RPing Caboose from RvB. It's not a problem. But yeah, most fics involve characters arriving on Remnant.**

 **red october700: Maria maybe. I highly doubt that Nicole 458 is even canon, considering her service number and the fact that there were a total of 130 candidates. Well, their minds weren't blown. Earth isn't really something special.**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	14. ONI

Chapter 14: O.N.I.

 **Sol-System, Orbit above Earth** **  
Cairo Station, Interrogation room**  
 **October 17; 2552**

Ruby was sitting inside a room, that she only ever knew from crime movies. It consisted of four gray walls, and one big window. In the middle was a big table, with two chairs, and a built in hologram emmitter. Only one door led into the room.

Honestly, this wasn't what she was expecting after arriving at Earth. The _Unboardable_ brought them here, and after they said goodbye to the crew, Soldiers in strange, black uniforms came by, and brought them to some rooms to rest, before taking Flies Low with them. From what she could guess, those guys were from the famous ONI.

They were called here immediately after waking up, and could already guess what this was about. The door opened, and a man stepped in. He was wearing one of the black uniforms. He sat down across from Ruby, and took his Datapad. The symbol of ONI was visible on his Uniform. It consisted of a black and white triangle, with a circle in the middle. For some reason, Ruby felt like the symbol was watching her. Either there was a camera inside the thing, which she wouldn't be surprised by, or it her mind was playing a trick on her.

"Miss Rose." He began.

"Yes?"

"Ruby Rose. Fifteen." He continued. "According to the data Captain Shioka and Miss Polendina gave us, you and your friends are from another dimension, and have arrived here by accident. After that, you've fought on a giant ring, that turned out to be a weapon, and fought, and I quote: 'Popcorn that turns people into tentacle monsters', as well as creatures of pure darkness."

"Uhm, it's hard to believe, isn't it?" Ruby said.

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But all the evidence supports it." He put his pad to the side, and held his hand out. "I am Lieutnant Holcomb. As you may have guessed, I'm part of ONI."

She shook his hand. "Ruby Rose." For some reason, Ruby was reminded of the night she first met Professor Ozpin.

"I know you must be, well, confused, or scared. Just to make it clear, we don't want you any harm." He explained. "We just want to interview you."

Ruby felt relieved. "Okay... Go on."

"First off, the data mentioned something called a 'Semblance'. What is this all about?"

"Well, a Semblance is, like, a superpower. Everyone has a unique one." Ruby explained. "I can burst into rose pedals."

"And can this be used by our troops?"

"From what we know, no. It seems like you guys don't have souls. No offense."

"None taken." He reached under the table, and put something on the table. "Is this yours?"

Ruby's eyes widened. "Yes, that's Crescend Rose. Why do you have it?"

"You left it in your room. Who made this weapon?"

"I did." Ruby said proud.

He looked surprised. "Not bad. You're good at engineering, I take it?"

Ruby nodded. "I know a lot about weapons. I even got some ideas for new weapons using Covenant tech."

"Are you the one who built the Energy Sword into the one of your friend?"

"Uhm, yes."

"You know that this is highly illegal?" He asked.

"Sorry. We thought it would be useful."

He smiled. "No, it is, trust me. But we can't just have someone running around, doing whatever they want with Covenant technology. I just ask you not to do such a thing again."

"Don't worry." Ruby said, slighty disappointed.

"One last question: You've probably already realized the tight spot we're in. You, and your friends, have extraordinary abilities, weapons and combat skills. Would it be a problem to help us out? Even if it could be futile? Of course, that would mean you'd be part of the UNSC, more specifically the Marine Corps."

"Well, we already talked about that." Ruby said. "And we came to the conclusion that we will continue to help, until this war is over. It's our duty as huntsmen."

He put the information into his pad, and stood up. "Good to know. This was a interesting conversation. You'll find a personal datapad in your room, as well as some snacks."

"It was a pleasure talking to you." Ruby said, and shook his hand. This guy definitely wasn't how she expected him to be.

* * *

"Weiss Schnee." Holcomb said. "It's said you were the heiress of a famous company?"

Weiss nodded. "Exactly. The Schnee Dust Company to be precise. The largest producer of Energy Propellant in the world. Or on Remnant, at least."

"And now that you're here, is there anyone who'd inherit it instead of you?" He asked.

"Why do you want to know that?" She asked back.

He shrugged. "Just out of curiosity."

"Well, my older sister Winter has lost the right to inherit the company due to her enlistment in the Atlas military. That only leaves my little brother, Whitley."

"Is the military in Atlas stronger than ours?"

"Uhm, that's an interesting question. I wouldn't say so. We don't have spaceships, so we'd loose easily. Our military is more meant as a way to combat the Grimm, rather than fight other humans." Weiss explained.

"And those Grimm. You fought them on Halo, didn't you?"

Weiss nodded. "Yeah, a lot of them."

"Just in case they'd appear here too, do you think we could combat them?"

Weiss shrugged. "Sure. You have a bigger and stronger military, entire worlds. I think they wouldn't be a big problem. I also doubt that there are any Grimm that could bring down a warship."

"I'm just going to go straight to my most important question: What is your Semblance?"

"That would be Summoning, together with Glyphs. Oh, that reminds me..." She reached into her pocket, and pulled out a vial of Dust. "This is Dust. It doesn't work in this world, but maybe your guys can figure something out."

The Agent took the vial, and looked at it. "And this stuff powers your entire civilization?"

"Exactly. This one is Fire Dust. There are more vials on the _Unboardable._ "

He put it into his pocket. "Thank you. Now, I think you and your friends already talked about the future here?"

"Yes. We'll continue to help. And if we win, I'd like to found a brand new Schnee Dust company." This seemed to surprise the Agent.

"That's an interesting plan. Thanks for the interview." He shook her hand, and Weiss left.

* * *

"Blake Belladonna." He said. "The only non-human of the group. Well, except for Miss Polendina."

"How did you know that?" She said, and took off her bow.

"It's quite obvious. You've got cat ears, eh?"

Blake nodded. "I'm a Faunus. I also possess perfect vision in the dark, as well as a better hearing sense."

"Interesting." He tipped around on his Datapad. "What interests me, is the fact that the crewman on the ship mentioned that you read a lot of books on the topic of racism. Is your kind oppressed?"

"Yes. We Faunus are somewhat oppressed. We have the same rights as Humans, but parts of the population don't trust us. There's actually an entire movement back home that tried to give us true equal rights, but they have gone off the rail recently."

"And you were part of that terrorist movement?"

Blake was shocked. "How did you-"

"I'm a professional. You may have cat ears, but your facial expressions are still human. I can read you like a book, and I had a good amount of interviews with terrorists. I know one when I see one."

Blake sighed. "Yes, it's true. I was with the White Fang. They started out peaceful, but later turned violent. That's when I left."

"I don't know if you're aware of this, but the Insurrection we had a couple of years ago went exactly like that." Holcomb explained. "So, is there anything you're planning to do about those ears?"

"What? Why?"

"We can't just have someone with cat ears running around. It could cause some hard to answer questions to pop up in the public."

"Wait, are we going to be in the public eye?" Blake asked.

"Of course. I'm pretty sure that, if we win that war, a large part of the population will see you as heroes." He said. "Now, about those ears..."

"Well, I can wear a bow." She suggested. "If that wouldn't be a problem."

"It won't pose one. Heroes alway have a unique look, don't they?"

Blake had to agree with that. Luckily, the lack of a proper helmet wouldn't pose too big of a problem, thanks to her Aura.

"Now, can you tell me your Semblance?"

"I can create clones of myself, so that they can take a hit."

Holcomb looked at her. "Interesting. Sounds like a good ability for an assassin." He stood up, and gave Blake the hand. "Thanks for your cooperation."

She nodded, and left. To her surprise, he didn't ask much about her past, but from what she could guess, he probably already knew everything from reading her.

* * *

"Yang Xiao Long. The big sister of Ruby Rose." Holcomb said, and looked up from his Datapad. "How does it happen that you and your sister have different eye color, hair color, and surnames?"

"My Mom ran away when I was born." Yang answered sad. "After that, Dad married Summer, Ruby's mom. I inherited most of Dad, while Ruby inherited most of Summer."

"And where is Summer?"

Yang shrugged. "She once went on a mission, and never returned."

"So, she's dead?"

Yang nodded. "Can we please change the topic?"

He smiled. "Of course. We've seen your weapons. Am I right that the gun function of them doesn't work?"

"Yes. The Shotgun shells don't fit." Yang explained.

"Well, I can assure you that we're looking for a solution."

That made Yang happy. "Can I ask something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

She leaned forward on the table. "The Spartans. Is it true? Did they get abducted as children?"

"No, they didn't." He answered. "You heard the rumors, didn't you?"

"Yeah. And I don't know if I can trust your answer."

"The only thing you need to know, is that Spartans never die. They're only missing in action."

Yang laughed. "Please. I know that's not true. Most of them are dead."

"I'll be honest with you. ONI always said that to boost the morale of our troops. But at this point, everyone pretty much knows that Spartans aren't invincible. They're actually dropping like flies. Holding up the lie is nothing more than pride at this point."

Yang led her fist down on the table triumphantly. "I knew it."

"Still, this has to stay secret, okay?" Holcomb looked at her, and Yang instantly knew that he meant it.

"No problem." Yang said. "Anything else?"

"Can you tell me your Semblance?"

Yang nodded. "I get stronger when I get hit, or my hair gets cut. Eventually, I can go into some sort of Rage-Mode. However, my hair also sets on fire, so a helmet is pretty much out of the question."

Holcomb put everything into his Datapad "Thank you for answering our questions. Can you send Mister Arc in?"

* * *

"Mister Jaune Arc. Leader of Team JNPR, and a good tactician." Holcomb greeted.

"Well, that's what my friends say anyway. And Professor Ozpin." Jaune said.

"Ozpin? That's the headmaster of your school, right?"

"Yeah. He's pretty wise."

"If we were to establish communications with Remnant, do you think he'd be a good person to contact?" The Agent asked.

"I'd say so." Jaune answered.

"On another note, you've got a Energy Sword inside Crocea Mors, right?"

"Yep, Ruby integrated it." Jaune said, proud of his upgrade. "Why?"

"Because selling Covenant weaponry, and modifying it, is highly illegal." The Agent explained. Jaune gulped. "However, we've decided to let it go this time, considering the unusual circumstances."

"Thank you."

"What I wonder though: Why do you have such a conventional weapon in the first place?"

"Well, it's an heirloom. My ancestors used it. They were all heroes." Jaune explained.

"And you wanted to be one too?"

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, that's why I enrolled at Beacon. I'm not a good fighter though."

"That's not a problem. You still seem to be above the average Marine. At least in CQC."

"Uhm, thanks. Pyrrha helped me out a lot."

Holcomb raised an eyebrow. "Pyrrha? The girl that likes you?"

"Yeah. We're good friends."

He looked at Jaune, as if the boy just said one of the most unbelievable things ever. "Okay. I already see how your relationship is. Anyways, you're probably okay with enlisting in the UNSC?"

"Yes, we've talked about that a lot."

"Since you're apparently a good tactician, we'd make you the leader of your troop, along with Miss Rose, would that be a problem?"

Jaune smiled. "No, it wouldn't."

"And can you tell me your Semblance?"

Jaune scratched the back of his head. "Well, I don't know mine yet."

"That's okay. Can you send in the next one, please?"

* * *

"Miss-"

"Nora Valkyrie." Nora interrupted him. "Yes, I'm here. What is this? Some sort of interrogation? I didn't do anything illegal since yesterday."

Holcomb was surprised about the girls sudden outburst. "Uhm, this isn't what this is about. Wait, what did you do yesterday?"

"Nothing you can prove. But I'm sure you did something illegal once, didn't you?"

"Yes, I stole a pack of bubblegum when I was a child. Now, can we please get on with the interrogation?"

"Why? So that you can put a crime on me even though I'm innocent?" Nora said angry.

"What? No."

"But that's what ONI is all about, isn't it?" Nora stepped on the table, much to Holcomb's surprise. "You want to get rid of us, so that we don't bust your conspiracies! I know what you did."

"Is that about the Spartans?"

"No, about all the other things. Secret fascist bases on the dark side of the moon, the disappearence of the right socks, the lizard people, and the illuminati!" She pointed at the emblem of the dumbfound Agent. "There it is! Oh, and not to forget the Space communists!"

"Jesus Christ, girl. Get a hold of yourself!" He said, a bit scared.

"Never! You'll never establish a new world order!"

"Okay, out. Get Miss Nikos in here."

Nora jumped down from the table, and walked towards the room, but not before telling Holcomb that she's watching him.

* * *

"Miss Nikos?"

"Yes? I have to excuse Nora. She's... She's Nora." Pyrrha said, a bit tired. Judging by her hair, she nearly overslept, and had to get here quick.

"Yes, I figured. I hope she's still able to follow orders?"

"Don't worry. She may be a bit crazy, but she has her heart in the right place." Pyrrha assured him.

"Well, now to you. What's your Semblance?"

"I can control magnetism." She looked at a a metal mug on the table, and lifted it up with her Semblance. "See?"

"Well, that's certainly useful." He wrote it down on his Pad. "You know, there's an old comic character that has similiar powers."

"Really? Is he a good guy?"

"No."

"Oh..." Pyrrha was genuinly disappointed about that fact.

"Mr. Arc told me that you trained with him?"

"That's right. We used the roof of the Academy."

"And there was nothing else playing in?" He said, and leaned forward.

"What? No!"

"Miss Nikos, I can read you like an open book. You obviously have feelings for Mr. Arc. You're just too shy to admit it. Especially to him."

Pyrrha looked down embarassed. "Yes. What should I do?"

"This isn't supposed to be a self help group. But I'd say you should just tell him. It can't hurt. And, a little tip from me, Mr. Arc likes you too. Not as much as you like him, but telling him may wake those feelings up."

Pyrrha smiled, and nodded. "Thanks."

"Is there anything else I need to know about you? Any special abilities?"

"Well, I won the Mistral torunament four times in a row."

He was surprised. "So, you're strong?"

"My teammates say I'm the best fighter of our team."

"That's good to know. Can you send in Mister Lie Ren, please?"

"Of course."

* * *

"Mister Lie Ren. You seem like the quiet type, am I right?"

"That's right." Ren answered shortly, proving it in the same sentence.

"One question: Where do you come from? Your attire and name sound asian."

"I'm from Mistral. I guess that the culture is similiar." Ren said, and shrugged.

"That wouldn't surprise me. Miss Schnee has a german name, Miss Xiao Long a chinese one, and Miss Nikos seems to be of greek descend."

"Well, Nora is also from Mistral too." Ren pointed out. "And our two names sound different."

"You mean the crazy girl that accused us of every conspiracy ever?" Holcomb said, and a shiver went down his spine. He could've sworn that he saw the girl through the big window for a moment.

"Exactly that one. I knew her since childhood."

"Really? Did you visit the same school?"

"Not really. We lived in the same town, until it got destroyed. Since then, we've lived together."

"Let me guess: Your town got destroyed by a Grimm?"

"Precisely."

"Can you describe its appearence?" Holcomb asked, and prepared to write it down.

"It looked like... a horse, where someone put the upper body of human on top."

He looked up surprised. "So, a Nuckelavee?"

"A what?"

"A mystical creature from scottish mythology." Holcomb explained. Ren wondered why a Grimm looked like a creature from Earth, but it was probably just a coincedence. "Can you please tell me your Semblance?"

"Sure. I can hide the emotions of other people. It might not be useful against the Covenant, but it works wonders against the Grimm."

"Alright. That would be it. Send Miss Polendina in, please."

Ren left.

* * *

"Penny Polendina. The most interesting member of the group."

"Uhm, why am I so special?" Penny asked. Needless to say, she was a bit afraid.

"Because of your synthetic origin."

"Are you going to cut me open?" Penny said in fear. "And disect me to built an army?"

"No! Who told- It was Miss Valkyrie, wasn't it?" Penny nodded, receiving a sigh from Holcomb. "Listen. We're not planning on cutting you open. Of course, we're still interested how you operate."

"I can help with that!" Penny exclaimed. "I have a blueprint of me saved inside my databanks. I can transfer them to you, if you want."

"Thank you. Now, just in case it won't work, I'd like to ask you something. Would you be so kind and take a shipdown to Earth tomorrow?"

"What? Why?"

"We'd like to do some scans on you. We're particularly interested in the part that generates your Aura."

Penny nodded. "Okay."

"Good. I'll transfer the necessary data to you. Goodbye."

"Bye!" Penny said, and left the room, leaving Holcomb alone.

He couldn't enjoy the peace however, as his Datapad received a call. He accepted it, and saw the last face he wanted to see right now. The one of his boss. "Admiral Parangosky." Her face was intantly striking fear into his heart.

"Lieutnant Holcomb. Did you finish the interviews?" She said.

"The last one just went through. I've send all the information to Sydney." He answered. Talking to her was nothing anyone in ONI did happily.

"We'll send you the next steps as soon as possible. Stay on alert." She replied, and closed the connection.

He sighed. Now he had finally some free time, something he needed after the last days.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Orbit above Earth** **  
Cairo Station, Observation Deck**  
 **October 18; 2552**

Team RWBY and JNPR were sitting on the Observation Deck of Cairo Station, observing Earth. They noticed a lot of ships arriving, something that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Most of them looked like warships, meaning that they were preparing for some form of engagment. And they could already guess against whom.

They heard the door open, and saw Holcomb coming in. They all stood up, and saluted, out of respect, and because it was etiquette. Honestly, Weiss was the one who forced them all to do it.

"Lieutnant!"

"Calm down, kids. I've got all your Datapads here." He handed everyone a Datapad, in their own respective colors. Their emblems were printed on the back.

"Whoah. Thanks." Ruby said. "Is there anything on there?"

"There should be a file open when you shut it on. Other than that, no. As new as possible."

Ruby activated her pad, and saw a file describing her entry in the UNSC Marine Corps.

 _Name: Ruby Rose  
Gender: Female  
Age: 15_  
 _Corps: UNSC Marine Corps/ Huntsmen Division_  
 _Rank: Sergeant_  
 _Role: Sharpshooter_  
 _Official Callsign: Little Red_

"What is this?"

"The basics of your entry for enlisiting in the UNSC. You'll be part of the Marine Corps, but will have your seperate group in there, called the Huntsmen Division. That'd be Team RWBY, JNPR and Miss Polendina."

Weiss opened hers.

 _Name: Weiss Schnee  
Gender: Female  
Age: 17_  
 _Corps: UNSC Marine Corps/ Huntsmen Division_  
 _Rank: Corporal_  
 _Role: Support_  
 _Official Callsign: Ice Queen  
_

"Are you fucking serious." Weiss said, angry about her callsign.

 _Name: Blake Belladonna  
Gender: Female  
Age: 17_  
 _Corps: UNSC Marine Corps/ Huntsmen Division_  
 _Rank: Corporal_  
 _Role: Scout_  
 _Official Callsign: Neko  
_

"Uhm, what does Neko mean?" Blake asked.

"It's a term for people with cat ears."

"Oh."

 _Name: Yang Xiao Long  
Gender: Female  
Age: 17_  
 _Corps: UNSC Marine Corps/ Huntsmen Division_  
 _Rank: Corporal_  
 _Role: CQC-Expert_  
 _Official Callsign: Sunny Dragon  
_

"Wait, why am I lower than Ruby?" Yang asked.

"Since Miss Rose and Mister Arc are the leaders of our new division, they receive higher ranks. But this is only a formality. I can understand that you don't work that well when using this system. We it would be appropriate to give you all a higher rank from the get got, since you've already had a lot of experience."

 _Name: Jaune Arc  
Gender: Male  
Age: 17_  
 _Corps: UNSC Marine Corps/ Huntsmen Division_  
 _Rank: Sergeant_  
 _Role: Tactician_  
 _Official Callsign: Arc  
_

 _Name: Nora Valkyrie  
Gender: Female  
Age: 17_  
 _Corps: UNSC Marine Corps/ Huntsmen Division_  
 _Rank: Corporal_  
 _Role: Heavy_  
 _Official Callsign: Thor  
_

 _Name: Pyrrha Nikos  
Gender: Female  
Age: 17_  
 _Corps: UNSC Marine Corps/ Huntsmen Division_  
 _Rank: Corporal_  
 _Role: Soldier_  
 _Official Callsign: Magneto  
_

 _Name: Lie Ren  
Gender: Male  
Age: 17_  
 _Corps: UNSC Marine Corps/ Huntsmen Division_  
 _Rank: Corporal_  
 _Role: Scout_  
 _Official Callsign: Ninja  
_

"Wait, where's Pennys? And Penny?" Nora asked.

"She's down on Earth, in New Mombasa. She agreed to help us out with Aura research." Holcomb explained. "We're hoping that we we can replicate the mechanism that generates her Aura, and give it to our soldiers."

"Hopefully it works." Ren replied.

"Now, I'd like you to come to the Hangar Bay." Holcomb said, to their surprise.

"What? Why?"

"A ship called the _Gettysburg_ just arrived, and is preparing to dock onto Cairo Station."

"Uhm, and? We don't know that ship." Yang answered.

"Just go there. Trust me, you won't be disappointed." Holcomb said, and left the room.

The teams instantly made their way to the Hangar bay.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Orbit above Earth** **  
Cairo Station, Hangar Bay**  
 **October 18; 2552**

They saw how the backside of the ship slowly closed in on Cairo Station. The teens already wondered who it could be. It took a while to actually connect both vessels, and depressurize the airlock. The doors opened, and revealed seven figures.

Thanks to their visors, it wasn't hard to indentify four of them. Spartans. They slowly left the ship. Ruby and her friends saw Johnson and Bailey amongst the Marines, while the others were unknown to them. "Bailey!" Ruby yelled frm the crowd, and the Marine waved. He spoke with Johnson, and left the group, walking towards the girl.

"Hey Red. I'm glad you made it."

"Yeah. It wasn't a hard journey. How did yours go?"

"Well, we lost a good amount of people, but we also blew up a whole Covenant Armada, saved Spartans from Reach, and got rid of a Rebell base." Bailey explained. He sounded proud of himself. Ren noticed that he was holding his right arm.

"Sounds exciting!" Yang said.

"What's with your arm?" Ren asked.

"One of their Kig-Yar got me good. Should be healed tomorrow, I just wasn't able to take the painkillers today. What did you do?"

"We saved a stranded ship." Nora said proud. "And me and Jaune upgraded our weapons."

"Yeah. Also, we're now officialy part of the UNSC." Jaune said.

They looked back, as the sound of metal boots was heard. The Masterchief left the ship, accompanied by three Spartans. The eight left the crowd, running directly towards the Spartans. "CHIEF!" Ruby yelled happy, and hugged the Spartan. It looked like he was unsure what to do in this situation.

"Oh, it's you." He replied.

"Are those the kids you mentioned?" One of the Spartans asked. He was a male, wearing a simple helmet, with a smaller visor than Chief.

"Yes, they are." He replied.

The Spartan shook Ruby's hand. "Spartan Fred-104. Good to meet you."

Another Spartan, this one wearing a strange helmet with two long, scope-like objects sticking out, shook her hand next. "Spartan Linda-058. The Chief talked well about you."

The last new Spartan greeted them. He was wearing the same armor as Chief. "Will-043."

"Wow. So many Spartans." Nora said.

"I'd like to get to know your skills better..." Fred interrupted. "But ONI called me and Linda down to Earth."

"All right. Bye!" They said, and the two Spartans left, accompanied by Will.

"So, is everything going to be good?" Pyrrha asked Chief.

"No. The Covenant knows the position of Earth." He mentioned, and all looked at him in shock. "It's only a matter of time."

The teens gulped. A storm was coming, and the only thing they could do was wait.

* * *

 **And Chapter 14 is here.**

 **Halo 2 is going to start next Chapter. I had some problems with the timeline, since it's never specified when the Gettysburg arrived on Earth, but I hope it works out this way.  
**

 **This Chapter had a lot more talking, thanks to the whole stuff with ONI.**

 **Now to replies:**

 **minecraft93: How would you even get that idea?**

 **Plasma Dragon 312: Yep, a bit of compensation for not having a sword-sword.**

 **red october700: The whole comment about religion last Chapter wasn't meant to be an insult or something. Even though I'm an Atheist, I don't have a problem with Religion, as long as they're not hurting anybody. It was just a little jab at the fact that the books of Religions tend to have a bad continuity, which would probably be even worse in 500 years, thanks to multiple re-writes and translations. I don't have anything against any religion. And in case anyone wonders or asks, yes I've read the Bible, as well as the Torah and Koran.  
Additionaly, I'd say it's safe to say that none of Earth's religions are 'true' in the Halo-Universe.  
Also, I don't think anything should be immune from comedy and critisicm.  
I think the events between Halo 2 and 3 were adressed in a video on Halo Channel, and in a comic series called Uprising. Johnson, Miranda, Arby and Co. used the Slipspace wake of the Dreadnought to jump, which made them as fast as the Forerunner ship, and they jumped to Earth directly, while Truth left Slipspace close to Io. Also, Truth travelled relatively slow to Earth, giving the others enough time.  
I want to use some of the lines you get with the skulls, yes.  
And Boku no Pico is something you really don't want to watch. It's generally considered the worst Anime that ever existed.  
Yes, they're the only teams, unless I decide to do something with HW2.**

 **Edrap: Yeah, Blake would read more history, but ships would probably have more military stuff on board. Also, the one she read could also be counted as a history book.**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	15. The Invasion

Chapter 15: The Invasion

 **Sol-System, Orbit above Earth** **  
Cairo Station, Hangar Bay**  
 **October 20; 2552**

After getting a nice day of rest, Team RWBY and JNPR were out to get to the ceremony. According to the invitation they got, the UNSC was holding a ceremony to honor the Masterchief, Sergeant Avery Johnson, and the teens. Sadly, Penny wasn't able to take part, but Ruby would give her the award later on. Even though Weiss wanted to wear dresses and uniforms, Holcomb said that it'd be better to wear their normal outfits, so that they would be recognized by the Marines, and give them a bit of hope.

They even were told to take their weapons with them. However, they weren't sure if that was to be ready in case something happened, or so that they could pose for the press. Not only their huntsmen weapons, but even the ones they got on Installation 04. They waited at a station, for the arrival of the tram, which would bring them to their destination, and, on the way, pick up the Chief and Johnson.

"How long does this thing usually take?" Yang asked, while drinking from a lemonade she got from a machine. She was done, and threw it on the ground.

"According to what I've heard, it can take some time when it's busy." Weiss replied.

Yang noticed someone tipping on her shoulder, and she turned around. She saw an old man, with a grey mustache, wearing an olive-green jacket over a red flannel shirt. One of his hands was a hook, that was stabbed through the can she jsut threw on the ground. "No littering." He replied, and walked away.

"Am I the only one that finds the janitor creepy?" Pyrrha asked.

The turned around as the sound of the tram was heard, and it opened its doors. The eight went inside, and it started moving. They looked out of the windows, seeing the structures of _Cairo_ and Earth. A couple of Ships were passing by.

"So, when do you think the Covenant will arrive?" Nora asked.

"Hopefully never." Jaune replied.

"Come on." Yang said, and punched her fists together. "I'm always ready to kick their butts."

"You won't be saying this when they are shooting at you." Weiss stated. The tram stopped, and the doors opened again.

Johnson and the Chief entered the tram. The Marine was wearing a white Uniform, with black stripes along the sides. The Chief was wearing a new armor, with a way more detailed golden visor. They saluted, and the door closed.

"Good to see you." Pyrrha said.

"Hey, can I ask something?" Blake asked.

"Sure. What is it?" The Sergeant answered.

Blake walked up to the window, and pointed at other stations above Earth, similiar to _Cairo_. Two of them in particular where always close to the one they were on. "What exactly are these stations?"

"Ah, yes. The Orbital Defense Grid. It was just all theory and politics when I shipped out for basics. And now look! The _Cairo_ is just one of three hundred geosync platforms. That MAC gun can put a round clean through a Covenant capital ship. With coordinated fire from the _Athens_ and _Malta_ , nothing's getting past this battle cluster in one piece."

Ruby looked at the weapons in awe. "Awesome."

A big ship passed by the windows. "Ships have been arriving all morning. Nobody's saying much, but I think something big's about to happen." Johnson explained.

"The Covenant is coming, isn't it?" Ren said.

"Likely." John answered, and the tram came to a hold. A crowd of Marines and other personnel was waiting outside, cheering.

A small, automatic camera was flying around, taking pictures. It took one of the Chief, and the Spartan looked at Johnson. "You told me there wouldn't be any cameras."

"Oh, the Chief has Stage Fright." Yang teased him, and John ignored her.

"And you told me you'd wear something nice." Johnson replied, and nodded towards the teens. "They got the message. Folks need heroes, Chief. To give 'em hope." He took off his hat, and put his hair back into place. "So smile, would ya? While we still got something to smile about."

"He's right, Chief. You should always start your day with a smile." Ruby said, and Nora nodded.

"To be fair..." Pyrrha said. "No one would see his smile through the helmet."

They walked up to a door, which quickly opened, revealing the bridge of _Cairo Station_. Ruby looked at the crowd, and saw Bailey standing there, cheering for them. The terminals and control panels were in use by the crew and officers, despite the ceremony taking place. Two people were waiting in the front, standing before a big screen.

They walked up to the front, and Ruby got a better glance at the two. One of them was a woman, wearing a white uniform, like Johnson. The other one was an elderly man, wearing a more decorated uniform. A good amount of badges were hanging from the right side of his uniform. Golden robes where hanging from his shoulder to the decorations, giving him a noble appearance.

He looked at them, and smiled, while the woman positioned herself next to the Chief. Ruby caught a glimpse of her name tag, and read the name Keyes. Was that the Captain's wife? Or daughter?

They saluted, and the old man nodded. "Ladies, Gentleman, we're lucky to have you back." Ruby was able to see his name, Terrence Hood.

A crewman came by, and whispered something into Hood's ear. "Go ahead, Cortana."

The AI appeared on a holotank next to them, and the teens waved. "Another whisper, sir, near Io. We have probes en route."

The Admiral turned back towards the soldiers. "I apologize, but we have to make this quick."

Cortana looked at them. "You look nice."

"Thanks." Chief, Johnson, Jaune and Ren answered, and exchanged looks. Cortana received an angry glare from Nora.

Hood took a case, and walked up to Johnson. "Sergeant Major, The Colonial Cross is awarded for acts of singular daring an devotion, for a soldier of the Unted Earth Space Corps." He pinned the metal on Johnson's uniform, and repeated the process with the Chief, before going over to Ruby. "I know this might be much for you and your friends, but you'll receive the same medal." He gave everyone one, and they put them into the pockets. "You defeated the Covenant at Halo, and managed to travel to Earth on your own."

Hood walked up to Keyes. "Commander Miranda Keyes. Your father's actions were in keeping with the highest tradition of military service. His bravery in the face of impossible odds reflects great credit, upon himself, and the UNSC. The Navy has lost one of its best." He handed her the Cross, and she tried to hold back tears.

Suddenly, alarms went off, and red lights started to glow. The Marines in the room ran out, including Bailey. "What's going on?" Nora asked.

"Slipspace ruptures directly off our battle cluster." Cortana said.

"Show me."

A large screen lit up, showing a fleet of familiar shaped ships aproaching a huge sphere, undoubtedly Earth. "Fifteen Covenant capital ships holding position just outside the kill zone."

The comms came to life. _"This is Fleet Admiral Harper. We are engaging the enemy."_

"Negative, Admiral. Form a defensive perimeter around the cluster." Hood turned around, and looked at Keyes. "Commander, get your ship, link up with the fleet."

She saluted. "Yes sir." And left the bridge.

Ruby and her friends started to look around, partially in panic, partially because they didn't know what to do.

"You have the MAC gun, Cortana. As soon as they come in range, open up."

"Gladly." The AI replied, and her hologramm disappeared.

Hood looked back at the screen. "Something's not right... The fleet that destroyed Reach was fifty times this size."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Yang asked.

"Not necessarily." The Chief answered. "They could be planning something."

"Sir, additional contacts. Boarding crafts, and lots of 'em." One of the officers said in panic.

"They're going to try to take our MAC guns offline, give their capital ships a straight shot at Earth." He turned around to the soldiers. "Master Chief, RWBY, JNPR, defend this station!"

"Aye" Ruby an her friends saluted.

The Chief turned towards Johnson. "I need a weapon."

"Right this way." Johnson replied, and led them out of the bridge. Ruby looked up, and saw a Marathon class heavy cruiser passing by, accompanied by multiple Longsword fighters. She looked in awe, as more and more ships passed, ready to fight against the incoming fleet.

They left the bridge, and found themselves back where the tram stopped. The crowd of Marines had disappeared, and was on a lower level, getting their weapons ready. The Chief walked up to a rack in the wall, and grabbed a Battle Rifle, together with a SMG.

Blake noticed Keyes boarding the tram, together with some officers, and leaving the scene.

 _"Alert! Boarders inbound!"_ It rang through the speakers. Yang thought that the message was a bit unnecessary, considering the fact that a Covenant Fleet, and especially boarding parties coming towards the station, should be pretty hard to miss.

They went down the ramp, and Nora, Ren and Blake stocked up on ammo one last time. Sadly there were only BRs and SMGs here, meaning that the others had to use the ammo they had with them. _"This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill! Seal pressure doors. Open weapon lockers."_

A small hallway led to a recreational area, and a transmission from _Malta_ came through. _"They're latched! Check your targets and watch the crossfires. They're in standard formation: little bastards up front, big ones in back... Good luck, Cairo."_

"Thanks." Ruby replied. The station shook, as a boarding ship latched onto it just outside the window. Johnson put down a heavy machinegun on top of a set of stairs, so that it pointed at the only door.

"I need a field of fire on that bulkhead!" He yelled. "As soon as that door opens up, let 'em have it!"

Everyone cocked their weapons, and aimed at the door, as the Covenant started to open it from the other side. Sparks flew from it, and it broke down. Even though the dust was still in the air, everyone opened fire.

They heard the screaming of Grunts, and saw two Elites leaving the dustcloud, taking cover behind some terminals. The Chief grabbed a grenade, and led it roll up to them. The explosion destroyed the terminals, and caused the shields to collapse. Ruby took one of them down with her Sniper Rifle, while Weiss took down the second Elite with a hail of bullets from her AR.

 _"Find the boarders point of entry. Cut them off at the source."_ Hood commanded over the comm, and they nodded.

"Go on, we'll keep this area locked down." One of the Marines said, and the Chief ran off, together with RWBY and JNPR.

They walked through a hallway, and arrived at a security area, overlooking an area with trees and benches. A Machine gun was stationed here. They could see two Marines trying to hold off a group of Sangheili and Unggoy. "Nora, take the MG." Jaune said, and Nora happily obliged. She took the gun, and unleashed hell into the area. Bullets destroyed glass, trees and benches, as they ripped apart the Grunts and Sangheili. One of the trees fell over, crushing another Sangheili under it. A minute later, the gun was out of ammo, and Nora stood back up. They saw one last Grunt coming out of hiding, but Chief shot it with his BR.

The group went down, and made sure every Covie was dead, as the station shook again. Another boarding craft attached itself, and more troops entered the room. They fought them off, and went up a set of stairs, only to find themselves in a hangar bay. Along the way, messages came through the loudspeakers, all essentially warning everyone on board about the Covenant boarders.

Inside the Hangar Bay, they saw a Boarding craft attached to the glass. Grunts and Sangheili had taken cover behind some crates, and a couple of Marines were fighting against them. Yang ran over to a large number of grenades on the ground, and Nora immediately followed her. They took the explosives, and started throwing them at the Covies, who got ripped apart by the explosions.

"You get a bomb!" Yang yelled. "And you get a bomb! You all get bombs!"

They stopped throwing, as soon as the Covenant was done for. However, a second squad left the craft, and Pyrrha used her Semblance to crush them with a big crate, before using it to block the entrance.

One of the Marines stepped up to the window. "Hey, check it out! The _Malta_ 's already driven off its boarders!"

"Huh?!" They walked up to him, and looked out of the window. Purple points were flying away from the _Malta._

" _Malta_ , what's your status, over?" Cortana asked.

 _"I don't believe it! They're retreating, we won!"_

"I don't know, something's wrong." Blake muttered, and everyone's eyes widened in shock as they saw what happened next.

Multiple explosions went off around the station, before it disappeared in a giant, bright glowing fireball. Sections broke off, and burned up as they entered Earth's atmosphere. The MAC gun flew away, crashing into another section.

They were still speechless, as the shockwave from the detonation hit the _Cairo_ , shaking it heavily. "Everyone on it..." Ruby muttered.

"This is bad. Real bad." The Marine said.

Suddenly, the doors into the hangar exploded, and another group of Covenant soldiers entered from behind a parked Pelican. They were quickly eliminated, and they went into the next hallway, which led to another hangar. Here, another boarding craft was docked onto the glass, and two Marines were fighting off the Covenant.

They entered battle, and took out the soldiers. Once again, Pyrrha closed off the craft with a crate.

"Uh Oh!" The Marine from the previous hangar said. Ruby was able to read the name 'Dubbo' on his nameplate. "Hey, they're leaving the _Athens_!"

They looked outside, and saw the exact same thing as with the _Malta._ "No!" Ruby yelled, and pressed her face against the glass, as if she could prevent what was about to happen.

The _Athens_ exploded, and another shockwave shook _Cairo_.

 _"Cortana! Assessment!"_ Hood yelled over the radio.

 _"That explosion came from inside the Athens. Same as the Malta. The Covenant must have brought something with them. A bomb."_

 _"Then they sure as hell brought one here. Chief, find it! RWBY, JNPR, catch up with Commander Keyes and Avery Johnson, they'll bring you to a ship. We need you down on Earth."_

"Understood." Jaune said. "Come on, guys!"

They followed him to a couple of stairs leading down, and took down the Grunts and two Sangheili inside the tunnel. It led up to an armory, where a soldier was fighting off two Sangheili with a Shotgun. Weiss created a glyph in front of him, saving him from a bolt of plasma. Ruby used the chance, and killed one of the Elites with Crescend Rose, while Blake used her ribbon to drag the other one to her, so that Ren could finish it.

"Thanks for saving my ass." He replied with a smile.

"Stay here, and wait for a squad." The Chief said. The Marine sat down next to the entrance, and got his Shotgun ready, in case anyone would try to come in.

They went out of the armory, finding themselves in another area with trees. Covenant soldiers had taken shelter in here, something that didn't hold long against Ruby and her friends. They followed the stairs up, and after taking out another platoon, were in another hallway.

Officers fought off a couple of Grunts, something they immediately assisted with. Jaune shot one of the Grunts with his Magnum, while Nora threw a grenade, blowing up a group of Grunts. John took down the last one with his BR.

"Thanks, Chief, Jaune, Nora." They looked around, and saw Johnson. He was accompanying Keyes.

"I owe you one. Come on, the ship is in this direction." Miranda said, and gestured towards an airlock.

Ruby nodded, and looked at the Chief. "Good luck."

"Tell that to the Covenant." John replied, and ran off. They were able to hear shots close by.

"Come on." Johnson said, and they followed him into another hallway, which led to an airlock.

To their surprise, Holcomb was already waiting at the airlock. "Come on, go inside!" They ran to him, but the door behind them opened, and two Sangheili entered the hall, in the company of four Jackals.

Holcomb grabbed a silenced pistol from his waist, and shot. "Get in!"

Ruby nodded to Yang, and she went inside, together with Keyes, Blake, Ren and Pyrrha.

Weiss created a glyph to stop a plasma grenade, and then took one of the Sangheili under fire. It dodged a couple of shots, and hit her into the abdomen with some shots of his Plasma Rifle. She grunted, as it took off a good amount of her Aura.

"Get in, Weiss." Ruby said.

The heiress nodded, and left. Suddenly, Ruby heard a loud scream next to her, and saw Holcomb going down. A bolt of Plasma had burned the entire left side of his upper body. "NO!" She yelled, and shot at the Sangheili. His head exploded, and two more entered the hall behind him. Jaune grabbed the girl, and dragged her insde. Nora used her last grenades to secure their exits.

The door closed behind them, but Ruby tried to get out. "We have to get Holcomb!"

"He's dead, Ruby." Jaune said. "There's nothing we can do." The ship shook, as it detached from the station, an started to go down to Earth. "Come on, let's get to the bridge."

Ruby wiped away the tears, and followed him. They all went to the bridge, where Keyes had already taken her position. The windows showed pure chaos. Masses of UNSC ships were fighting against only fifteen Covenant ships, and were loosing. One ship after the other exploded.

One of the capital ships above them lit up, as it's shields broke under continueus fire.

" _Cairo,_ this is _In Amber Clad."_ Miranda said over comm. "The carrier's shield is down. I'm in position for immediate assault."

 _"Negative, Commander. Not against a ship that size. Not on your own."_ Hood responded.

 _"Sir..."_ The Chief asked over comm. _"Permission to leave the station."_

 _"For what purpose, Master Chief?"_

 _"To give the Covenant back their bomb."_

 _"Permission granted. Commander, get in position."_

"Uhm, what?" Nora asked.

"Is he going to throw the bomb out?" Pyrrha wondered. "I don't think it will hit the ship."

"There!" Jaune yelled, and pointed at a screen. It showed a green object leaving the station, and flying towards the ship. It held a big, black and purple object.

"He's crazy!" Weiss yelled.

"Seems like it." Johnson agreed, and smiled.

The Chief disappeared into the carrier, and a couple of seconds later, came back out. Explosions appeared along the ships hull, before it exploded like the _Malta_ and _Athens._

"Holy Shit!" Yang said, dumbfounded by what just happened. "That was awesome."

"Wait, where's he going to land-" Ren asked, but was interrupted by a loud thud on top of the ship.

"For a brick, he flew pretty good." Johnson joked.

"Does his armor help against that? You know, cushioning such an impact?" Ruby asked, and Miranda thought for a moment.

"I'm going to send a team outside. I hope he's okay."

While a special EVA team was send out, the _In Amber Clad_ turned towards Earth, aiming at a giant city on the east coast of Africa.

* * *

 **Solar System, Remnant**  
 **Forerunner structure, Emerald Forest**  
 **Dezember 21; 2552**

"Dr. Watts." Salem said, as she entered the Alien chamber.

"Ma'am." He answered.

"Is it ready?"

Watts nodded. The device he so carefully researched over the last three months was incredible. It was able to transport creatures in a certain radius to thousands of different places all over the galaxy. And it was Salem's idea to use it to spread the Grimm all over. A terribly simple, but lethal plan.

And the first group was ready. It consisted of hundreds of Beowolf, Ursa, Goliaths, Nevermore and more kinds of Grimm. Additionaly, Salem wanted to send a particularly strong Grimm along. If Watts had to be honest, it terrified him a bit. It had the appearence of a horse, with a human body on top. There were a few of them running around on Anima, but this specimen was especially big and strong.

However, after Cinder explained to him the appearence of the missing students, so that he could place items in the forest to make it look like they died, she mentioned that one of the children had Silver eyes. A danger that Salem didn't take lightly. Thus, she wanted to send Tyrian along, so that he could take care of the girl.

The Faunus was already waiting eagerly, and stood next to the horse Grimm. Even he looked somewhat afraid of the monster.

"And remember, as soon as you're on the other side, my control over the Grimm will vanish, so run as fast as possible." Salem explained.

"Sure, Ma'am." Tyrian answered. He had a backpack with him, in case there weren't any supplies on the other side. Ammo, food, water, and the money he made with the stolen ice cream truck.

"Watts, start the Invasion."

He nodded, and pressed a symbol on the terminal, after choosing a destination. A second later, Tyrian and the Grimm vanished, ready to bring terror to a new world.

* * *

 **And there is the first Chapter of Halo 2. (Or Halo 2 Anniversary.)**

 **I had a lot of free time the last days, so I was able to write this down quickly. I actually wanted to work on the next Chapter for Ark: RWBY Evolved, but my game isn't starting, so that will have to wait until I have that worked out.**

 **Anyways, with this Chapter also begins Salem's involvment, more or less. Also, it should be noted that the Nuckelavee Grimm she sent over isn't the same one from Volume 4. It's an older, stronger one. (And a Grimm species that works perfectly for Halo 3: ODST)**

 **If anyone wonders why no one of the teens was with Chief later on, Aura doesn't give your infinite air, or protection upon landing on a ship.**

 **Now to replies:**

 **minecraft93: Well, that was already answered.**

 **Edrap: Yeah, I know Parisa. And thank you, I just remembered that I should read that again. And I didn't think ybout how Bailey was hurt exactly, but let's say he was biten.**

 **Cmedina1: Thanks for pointing that out, the thing with 'Creek' and 'Greek', as well as my other typo. I fixed it. I actually wanted to reference even more dumb conspiracies, including stuff like the Flat Earth or faked Moon Landing, but it would've been a bit too long.  
I'm sorry if it came off insulting, it wasn't meant that way. As long one doesn't take the Bible literally (Like saying the Earth is only six thousand years old), or hurt anyone, I don't have any problem with it.  
Also, I don't think the Mantle is the best thing to be guided by. It took down the Precursors, Forerunners and probably everyone else that held it, so yeah. **

**rocketmce: That's gonna be answered in Halo 3, while travelling to the Ark, since it's planned that Yang has a sparring match against John during that time.**

 **TheFishKing: Well, it didn't come to mind, surprisingly. Dammit.**

 **Plasma Dragon 312: Yeah, Chief appreciates the help.**

 **Halo Guy: Technically Huntsmen and Huntresses. It was implied that this was used as a new specialization inside the Marine Corps, so they're neither Marines or ODSTs.**

 **Mr. wolffe: I appreciate it. Thanks.**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	16. Bug Crusher

Chapter 16: Bug Crusher

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
Pelican, Air above New Mombasa**  
 **October 20; 2552**

The _In Amber Clad_ was hovering above the city of New Mombasa, a giant port city, founded 900 A.D. It was famous for having one of Earths six Space Elevators. Right now, however, the city was under attack by the Covenant. One of their ships, a CAS-class Assault carrier, broke through the blockade in orbit, and hovered above the Megacity, like a harbinger of death and destruction.

It's gravity lift was active, sending thousands of troops into the city. Meanwhile, Banshees, Phantoms and Liches left the giant like a swarm of locusts, about to descend upon fields of crops. Fires and explosions went off everywhere in the city, and evacuation ships were trying to get as many people to safety as possible.

Most of the Outskirts have already been devastated, and were teeming with Covenant troops.

A couple of Pelicans left the _In Amber Clad_ , ready to drop in. One of them had Ruby, Weiss, Jaune and Pyrrha on board. Nora and Ren were in a Pelican of their own, just like Yang and Blake. While Ruby, Weiss, Jaune and Pyrrha were about to go into the outskirts, the others were travelling deeper into the city, to help with the evacuation efforts.

Johnson, Masterchief and a couple of Marines were in the Pelican with Ruby, as a transmission from Cortana came through. _"The message just repeats. Regret, Regret, Regret."_

 _"Catchy. Any idea what it means?"_ Miranda replied. _  
_

"Dear humanity..." Johnson began. "We regret being Alien bastards, we regret coming to Earth, and we most definitely regret that the Corps just blew up our raggedy-ass fleet!"

"Oo-rah!" Everyone in the Pelican yelled.

"Isn't the battle still going though?" Pyrrha pointed out.

"Don't ruin the moment." One of the Marines said.

"Regret is a name, Sergeant. The name of one of the Covenant's religious leaders. A Prophet. He's on that carrier, and he's calling for help." Cortana explained.

"The Covenant has religious leaders?" Jaune asked. "How many?"

"Three." Cortana answered.

The comms came to life, as one of the Marines stationed on the ground called them. _"Immediate: Grid kilo two-three is hot. Recommend mission abort."_

Ruby walked up to the front, looking out of the window. She was able to see the ruins of a highway and buildings, most of them still burning and smoking. Two Warthogs were driving along the highway under them.

"Roger recon." The pilot said. "It's your call, Sergeant."

"We're going in." Johnson said, and turned towards the soldiers in the back. "Get tactical, Marines!"

Ruby went back, and grabbed her Sniper Rifle, while everyone made sure their weapons were loaded, and their armor was sitting tight. Ruby and her friends got new Marine Jackets from the _In Amber Clad_ , as well as more ammo.

 _"Master Chief, Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, Pyrrha, get aboard that carrier, and secure the Prophet of Regret. This is the only place on Earth the Covenant decided to land. That Prophet is going to tell us why."_ Hood commanded over the radio.

"No problem." Pyrrha responded.

"Yeah, we already done that once." Jaune added.

"Thirty seconds out. Stand by to-" The pilot said, only to stop, and look in shock. Ruby looked out, and saw buildings crumbling, before a gigantic, bug-like Covenant machine stepped onto the road. "Whoa."

The 'mouth' of the Scarab looked at them, and shot a beam of plasma, destroying one of the three dropships instantly. The Anti-Air cannon on the back shot the other two Pelicans, and Ruby quickly grabbed something, as the ship started to fall. It crashed into the roof of a building, before crashing through a brick wall, landing in a courtyard.

Weapons and supplies flew around inside the ship, while it turned around wildly. Eventually, it came to a hold, and Ruby noticed that she was on the ceiling. The Hangar bay was open, and probably broke off during the crash. She started to look around, and saw that everyone was still alive, even if some of the Marines were bleeding.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
Crashsite, New Mombasa Outskirts**  
 **October 20; 2552**

"What was that?" Pyrrha asked, holding her head.

"That was a Scarab." Johnson replied. "Big. Badass. And children love 'em for some reason."

"Where are we?" Jaune wondered, and looked around in the courtyard. The buildings looked older than he expected. "This doesn't look like a futuristic city."

"We're in the Outskirts. This is the old part of the city." One of the Marines explained, and pointed to the west. "The really modern part is over there."

Johnson turned towards the Marines, and looked at them, making sure they were all still alive. "Shake it off, Marines. Clear the crash site! Go, go, go!"

They went into a small hallway, with a ramp leading down to a small plaza. A Grunt came in, probably interested by the crashed ship, but started to flee as it spotted them. The Chief shot it in the back, and the methane-tank exploded.

After the hallway was a small plaza, with a bombed building. A street went past, and empty cars stood around. A small truck had fallen over. The Covenant were residing inside the building, but were quickly eliminated.

"If they didn't know we're here before, they do now." Johnson pointed out.

"All right, we'll try to hold our ground inside the building!" Ruby said.

"Snipers, get up on the roof." Jaune commanded. "Pyrrha, Weiss, can you try to defend the entrances?"

Both nodded.

"I'll take the machine gun." John said, and pointed at the weapon, which was standing at the edge of the balcony.

"Everyone else, stay in cover." Johnson finished.

Everyone went on their positions, and waited until the first group of Covies arrived. Covenant troops came out of the alleyways, mostly Sangheili and Unggoy. They took cover behind the fallen truck, but it exploded after Chief pumped it full of bullets, killing the Covenant. The others were taken out quickly, thanks to the good position the Marines were in.

"We showed them!" One of the Marines next to Pyrrha yelled.

"Yeah, I expected more." Weiss said. Suddenly, the Marine fell over, as a loud sound echoed over the plaza. Weiss tried to help him back up, but saw a big, smoking hole in his head. "Sniper!" She yelled, and went into cover.

Ruby looked around, and saw a purple light shining through some broken windows in the buildings. She aimed at the Sniper, and shot. The light disappeared, and the limp body of a Jackal slid out of the hole. "Does anyone see more?"

"There's one on six." A Marined replied, and Ruby took the Kig-Yar out.

They waited for a moment, making sure that the Snipers were dealt with. It was quiet enough, so Johnson peaked out of the doorway he took cover behind. He wasn't able to see any more Jackals.

More Covenant forces came in from the crashsite. Pyrrha threw a grenade into the hallway, and Weiss sealed the path with a glyph. The explosion killed the trapped Covenant soldiers, while their blood splattered against the glyph.

"Nice. How many are left?" Pyrrha asked.

Suddenly, they heard buzzing, and looked up. Giant bugs were closing in from the rooftops. "What are those things?" Weiss asked. She could've sworn that Pyrrha stepped back a bit as they saw the insects.

"Buggers!" Johnson replied. "Take 'em out with short, controlled bursts of fire."

Weiss aimed, and took out one of the Yanme'e. It fell down, and the cracking of the exoskeleton was hear as it crashed into the ground. From what she could guess, those things were using their numbers, instead of strength.

Pyrrha took her DMR, and shot one of the Buggers. She hit it's head, and the creature literally exploded. The other Buggers started to fly around randomly, making them harder to hit. The Chief swung the MG around, and ripped the Aliens apart, until none were left.

They took out another troop of Covenant soldiers, and the sound of an Antigrav Generator was heard above the plaza. They looked up, and saw a round, purple dropship coming in. Three turrets on the bottom started to shoot. They all ran inside the building, hoping that the stone would hold long enough.

The shooting stopped, and Ruby looked outside. The Phantom left, and the walls it hit were molten, and could break any minute. They had to get out first, since the house wouldn't hold much longer. However, it looked like it sat down more troops, but nothing that was impossible to deal with.

Another shadow appeared, but as they looked up, they were more than happy about what they saw. A Pelican hovered above the plaza, and Ruby waved. _"My girl's a little big for that courtyard, Sergeant. I see a good LZ on the other side of these buildings. Meet you over there, over."_

"Copy that. Someone get a satchel on the gate!" Johnson replied, and pointed at a metal gate.

Weiss took one, and was about to put it on, as the door bended. Loud sounds were heard, as if something punched the doors from behind. They all aimed their weapons at the gate, as it flew off. Weiss managed to dodge one of the two halfs just in time. Two Hunters entered the plaza. "Hunters!" Cortana yelled.

Weiss created a glyph, and blocked the first punch of one of the Hunters. "I could use some help down here!" She said, and drew Myrtenaster, before running around the Mgalekgolo.

Once one of them showed his back to the building, and the Chief shot it with the Machine gun, taking the creature out easily. The other Lekgolo got angry, and shot his beam at the building. It destroyed some of the walls, causing parts of the building to collapse. The Chief jumped down, and grabbed the spikes on the back of the Hunter, before putting a grenade into the monster. It blew up, throwing worms everywhere.

"Second squad, this is Cortana. What's your status, over?"

 _"We're operational, ma'am... barely._ _Our pilots didn't make it."_

"Find a hole, stay put. We'll come to you." Cortana replied.

They went into the new hole in the wall, and made their way through a destroyed alleyway. Small fires were burning everywhere. Eventually, they reached a broken down street. Snipers had taken position across the LZ, so Ruby and Pyrrha took them out, while the rest took care of the other Jackals.

"That was surprisingly easy." Jaune said.

 _"Sergeant, I need you on that bird."_ Keyes said over the radio.

"Ma'am?"

 _"My Pelicans are going to start airlifting armor and reinforcements into the city. They'll need an escort that isn't afraid of a little hostile ground fire."_

"Understood. I'll keep an eye on 'em. Good luck to you."

He went into the Pelican, together with two Marines, leaving Pyrrha, Jaune, Ruby, Weiss, Masterchief and two more Marines on the ground.

They started to fight through the following alleys, taking out Sangheili, Unggoy and Kig-Yar along the way. The Snipers really made it a pain in the ass, but thanks to Ruby, they were taken out without scoring a hit on the Marines. Eventually, they reached another squad of Marines, which were pinned down inside a Hotel, called Hotel Zanzibar. The Covenant had a plasma turret.

They snuck up to them, and quickly took down the Covenant platoon.

"Chief! Ruby! Jaune! Weiss! Pyrrha! Glad you could make it. Crash site's on the other side of this hotel. Covenant are crawling all over it. Follow me." One of the Marines greeted. They followed the Marine into the dark hotel, and Ruby noticed a circle with two eyes on a screen.

She looked at it, and the circle changed expression, as if it was smiling. "What's that thing?"

"That's the Superintendent." One of the Marines explained. "It's the AI that handles all the small things in New Mombasa, like traffic or garbage disposal."

"Oh, clever." Weiss stated. "We have something similiar in Atlas. Only on a smaller scale."

"Uhm, the Covenant is coming." One of the Marines said. They looked towards him, and saw a dark hallway, with alcoves leading to the rooms for the residents.

"We should ambush them." Jaune said, and everyone agreed. They hid inside the alcoves, and waited for the Covies to walk past them, before opening fire. The troop died quickly, and they went outside.

To their surprise, they were on the beach. A bridge was visible in the distance, leading into the inner city on the other shore. Ruby took a moment to admire the gigantic skyscrapers, as well as the Space elevator, piercing through the clouds. The carrier was still hovering above the cities, and small, purple dots indicated dropships and fighters occupying most of the air.

They stood on top of a bridge, which was part of some sort of big staircase.

The peaceful moment was not forever though, as a Phantom closed in, dropping off more enemies. Weiss threw a grenade, and it took out the first squad. The second one was killed by combined fire of John, Ruby and Pyrrha.

Under them, on a street that led to the beach, a honking was heard, and Marines pulled up in a Warthog. "Special delivery from Commander Keyes."

"Thank you." Weiss said, and they walked up to the Jeep. The Masterchief took the wheel, while Pyrrha rode Shotgun. Ruby manned the Machinegun.

"What's with us?" Jaune asked. Just in time, another Hog pulled up. "Jump in." The Marine said, and both followed suit. Jaune took the Machinegun, while Weiss rode Shotgun, so that she could use her glyphs to aid them.

"The biggest concentration of Covenant ground troops is directly below the carrier." Cortana mentioned. "I don't think they want us to get on board. That bridge is the most direct route to the city center."

With that, they started to drive along the beach, passing the crashed Pelican of Second Squad.

"Man, I'd have loved to visit the beach without any Covenant." Jaune said.

"It's still possible if we survive the war." Weiss pointed out.

"If I could suggest something..." Their driver said. "If you really want to visit a Beach, go to Sundown. It's one of the best planets for beach vacations."

"I'll remember that." Weiss said, and made a mental note.

They arrived at an inactive artillery postion, where Sangheili and Kig-Yar dug themselves in. Jackal Snipers had taken position in a nearby guard tower. The Chief started to drive in circles around the artillery, so that Ruby and Pyrrha could shoot the troops inside.

Meanwhile, The other Warthog drove to the Guard tower, and Weiss threw a Grenade into the gravity lift. The explosion killed both Kig-Yar, and caused the upper part of the tower to slide off.

After John, Ruby and Pyrrha took out the Covenant soldiers, they drove up through a couple of crates, and a hallway, which looked like it was used to store Containers.

Leaving the hallway, they found themselves on another part of the beach, with another inactive Artillery. Once again, they repeated the previous process, and proceeded after destroying two additional Ghosts and dodging the shots of a Phantom.

 _"The carrier just launched a wave of pods. They're inbound on your position!"_ Keyes warned them.

"Don't worry. We can take them." Ruby responded, and saw said pods crashing into the next part of the beach. The wall in the back of the beach was broken, leading into a highway tunnel.

The pods opened, and Elites came out, carrying Swords and Plasma Rifles. Not that it helped them though.

The Masterchief splattered once of the Elites under the Warthog, while Ruby mowed down a second one with the Machinegeun.

Weiss used a Glyph to block an incoming Plasma Grenade, while Jaune took the Elite under fire. With that, all the Elites were taken out, and they entered the tunnel.

"This tunnel leads up to the bridge." Cortana explained. "It's full of rats, if you know what I mean... But it sure beats swimming."

"Can the Chief even swim?" Ruby asked. "I mean, that armor must be heavy."

"I can't, at least with the armor on." John answered.

"By the way..." Cortana interrupted. "I've been analyzing the Covenant tactical chatter. They're surprised, confused... I don't think they expected us to be here. Not only me, Chief and our friends from Remnant, all of us... humanity, on Earth. Odd, I know, but it does help explain why they came here with such a small fleet."

"That would also explain why that Prophet is begging for help." Weiss pointed out. "And that means the whole fleet is going to arrive in short time."

"Oh dear." Pyrrha said. "Can the UNSC hold them off?"

"No." The Marine answered. "If they arrive, we're all as good as dead. We have to get that Prophet."

They passed several Covenant positions, and either took them out, or ignored them as much as possible. Luckily, the Covenant had used trucks and cars as walls and barriers, and they exploded after a small amount of fire, making it easy to blow their positions up.

Eventually, they came to an open part, where two different tunnels connected. Another Warthog was fleeing, but blew up as a green plasma beam came through the ceiling. They looked up through the hole, and saw the Scarab walking away.

"This thing is getting annoying." Weiss mentioned. "Also, why aren't there many cars here?"

"Well, most people were at work when the Covenant attacked. I'd suspect more cars on the surface." Cortana explained.

They went back into the deeper parts of the tunnel, and found a parked Shadow. They took out the nearby Covenant forces, and looked at the massive vehicle. "What's that thing?" Jaune asked. The vehicle had a big opening in the middle, and one turret on top.

"A Shadow. Mobile troop carriers." Cortana said.

"They'll probably have more up ahead." John said. "Shoot at the turret on top."

"Got it." Ruby said. "Let's go."

It didn't take long for the Shadows to show up, and Ruby and Jaune shot the turrets down easily. Weiss and Pyrrha used their Semblances to either block their paths with glyphs, or use metal parts on the street to destroy their engines. Eventually, the entire convoy was stopped, and the Humans arrived at a large outpost.

A Shadow blocked the path. Two Ghosts were driving around, and a Plasma Turret was on top of some containers. They took down the Ghosts easily by outmaneuvering them, and then took out the Turret.

With the Covenant done, they drove past the Shadow, and up a ramp, where they could see sunlight again.

* * *

They found themselves at a checkpoint, in front of the bridge. A couple of Marines had taken cover behind the Checkpoint. In the distance, they were able to see the Scarab walking over the bridge, destroying every verhicle in its path.

They jumped out of their Hogs, and approached the Marines.

"It blew right through us. 50-cal, rockets... didn't do a thing." The female Marine explained.

They heard a Pelican approaching, and looked up. Said dropship dropped off a Scorpion tank, and Johnson jumped out, landing on the tank. "Where's the rest of your platoon?"

"Wasted, Sarge."

"And we will be too, sir, if we don't get the hell outta here!" The male Marine said in panic, and tried to flee, but Johnson stopped him.

"You hit, Marine?"

"N-no, Sir."

"Then listen up!" Johnson walked up to the Scorpion. "When I joined the Corps, we didn't have any fancy-shmancy tanks. We had sticks! Two sticks, and a rock for the whole platoon- and we had to share the rock! And neither did we have interdimensional heroes with superpowers. Buck up, boy, you're one very lucky Marine!"

"What about that Scarab?" The female Marine asked.

"Yeah, that thing seems a bit strong. Even for us." Ruby added.

"We've all run the simulations." Johnson said, and looked at Ruby, Weiss, Jauen and Pyrrha. "Well, most of us. They're tough, but they ain't invincible. Stay with the Master Chief, he'll know what to do."

"Yes, sir, Sergeant!"

"Thanks for the tank." Cortana added. " _He_ never gets me anything."

Johnson climbed back into the Pelican, and cocked the Machine Gun in the back. "Oh, I know what the ladies like."

"If everyone would know that..." Pyrrha sighed, and looked at Jaune.

The Pelican took off again, leaving them alone. "So, who takes the tank?" Ruby asked.

"You want it, don't you?" Weiss responded.

Ruby smiled innocently. "Of course, but I don't know how to drive one."

"Oh, right. That leaves me, Pyrrha, the Chief or the Marines. What else do we have?"

"Three Warthogs, Ma'am." One of the Marines responded. "And, technically, a good amount of civilian vehicles."

Jaune, Ruby and the Chief started to think.

"I'll drive a Warthog." John finally spoke up. "None of you know how to drive a car."

"I'll take the tank then." Weiss said.

"Uhm, I can drive it too." Pyrrha replied.

"Yeah, but I've seen you drive it back in Alpha Base." Weiss explained. "It's better if I take it."

"All right, then I'll ride Shotgun in the Warthog." Pyrrha said, slightly insulted.

"I'll take the Machinegun again." Ruby said, and manned the weapon.

"I'm gonna hop in with you again, okay?" Jaune asked the Marine that drove them here.

"No problem."

"We'll go on the tank." The female Marine suggested. "We've got rockets, so that should help."

"Okay then, all get in."

Weiss walked up to the M808B, and hopped in. One press of a button later, the cockpit came to life.

The platoon started to move across the bridge, destroying every Ghost that tried to intercept them. A Wraith waited in the middle of the bridge, and took them under fire from a distance.

Weiss swung the barrel around, and shot. The tungsten shell hit the Wraith, but it was still working. However, the Marine shot a rocket, which finally destroyed the Mortar.

With the way free, they continued over the other half of the bridge. Weiss' Tank blew up every inhuman-son-of-a-bitch that was dumb enough to get between them and the Prophet. That included several Ghosts, another Wraith, and a couple of Banshees.

Eventually, they reached the other end of the bridge, where the Covenant was already waiting. Two Wraiths, three Banshees, and three Ghosts. The Warthogs drove around the Wraiths, and shot them into the back, while Weiss took on the Ghosts. Her tank sent every Ghost into Oblivion with one shot, while the Marines on the tank took down the Banshees with their Rocket Launchers.

With the Enemies taken out, they went into the tunnels, until they reached a roadblock. Marines were standing in front of it.

"What's going on?" Pyrrha asked.

"Covenant troops have taken shelter up ahead. We need help to take them out." The leader of the Marines said.

"Well, your help has just arrived." Ruby said with a smirk. They all left their vehicles, and went up to the sidewalk.

The group tried to stay quiet, so that they could surprise the Covenant forces. Luckily, it worked, and they all managed to aim at a soldier in secret. The Chief held up three fingers, and counted down.

At zero, everyone fired, killing most of the Kig-Yar and Unggoy. Ruby shot down one of the Snipers in the distance, with Pyrrha taking down the other one. The rest of the Covies turned around, and opened fire. Jaune took a Grenade, and threw it between some trucks. The resulting explosion caused the trucks to explode, which then blew up the other cars, eventually turning the entire part of the street into a sea of fire.

They passed the position, arriving at a thinner tunnel leading back out of the tunnel. Ruby turned towards the Marines. "All right, you stay here and keep them off our back. This should be a good place to dig in."

"Understood, Sarge. Leave it to us." One of the Marines replied.

"Come on, we have to get moving." The Chief said, and they went into the tunnel.

It wasn't a good position to be in. The Covenant could easily attack them in the dark tunnels. Luckily, the tunnel ended as fast as it started, and led into an open, beautiful park. A Kig-Yar sniper had his back turned towards them, so Ruby used her Semblance to get to him, and cut him in two with her Scythe.

With the immediate thread taken out, they looked around. In the distance, the Scarab was visible, as it walked over the walls. A lot of Covenant soldiers had taken cover inside a structure in the middle of the park, mainly Jackals. A Warthog with a lone Marine was driving around.

Pyrrha, Masterchief and Ruby took their weapons, and took out the Snipers, while Jaune and Weiss went in to secure the Hog. The driver stopped. "Hey, I could use you on the gun."

Jaune looked at the turret on the back. Instead of having three barrels, it only possessed one, with some sort of computer attached. "That's not a machinegun."

"Yeah, that's a Gauss Rifle. That baby can shoot through solid steel. Wanna jump in?"

He took the gun, while Weiss, once again, went into the other seat, helping out with her Semblance. She was able to read the name 'Stacker' on the Marines uniform. Jaune aimed the gun at a nearby Sangheili, and the shot caused the Elite to literally explode. "Whoa."

"I told you." The Marine said. "Where's the Chief?"

"He's up there." Weiss said, and pointed at the Chief, who was coming towards them.

"Drive ahead." The Spartan commanded. "We'll follow you."

"Are you sure?"

"We'd only hold you back." Ruby explained. "I'm sure we'll find our own cars."

"All right. Let's go for a ride." The Marine yelled, and drove into the next portion of the park.

Two Ghosts patrolled the area, with the assisstance of a Wraith. Jaune shot the first Ghost in the side, and it exploded instantly. The second Ghost tried to ram them, but Weiss summoned a Glyph, creating a ramp, and causing the Ghost to jump over them, and crash into the wall.

They started to go around the Wraith, so that Jaune could shoot it in the back. Two shots later, and the Mortar blew up.

"Should we wait for the Chief?" Weiss asked.

"Well, we c-" Stacker was interrupted, as three more Ghosts came in from where they came from.

Jaune almost opened fire, but noticed who drove the Ghosts. "There they come."

"Looks like you got yourself a ride." Weiss said to Ruby, as she pulled up.

"It was surprisingly easy to get the Sangheili out of them. You just have to insult their honor."

"Huh, I have to remember that." Stacker said.

"You can also insult their mother." The Chief added.

The six drove into a tunnel at the end of the park, and passed a waterfall. "You know, the city is actually pretty." Pyrrha pointed out.

"Yes, our cities aren't too bad, as long as there isn't any Covenant around." Stacker said, and left the tunnel.

They were back in the big city, on a road. Another Warthog passed, and joined them. They drove up the road, where they found a big building up ahead. The sign above the entrance identified it as a building belonging to Lethbridge Industrial. The building was under siege by two Wraiths, as well as three Snipers, who took their position on some catwalks spanning over the road.

"There are a number of Marines trapped inside that building." Cortana said. "Concentrate on the Wraiths, they're the biggest threat."

As shot soared through the air, shooting the driver out of the second Warthog. A second later, one of the Wraiths turned around, and shot the Warthog, blowing it up.

"You sure?" Stacker asked.

* * *

"You think they already destroyed the Scarab?" The female Marine asked.

"Knowing the Chief, probably." Her friend answered. "I would've liked to help him though. Sorry about trying to bail out by the way."

"You heard what Sergeant Rose said." She replied. "We are supposed to keep the Covenant off their back, and we better do that."

"Yeah, but it's boring."

Suddenly, they heard a loud sound, as if something exploded, and all aimed their weapons at the source of the sound. They only saw the roadblock, and guessed that something happened behind it. "Go on, take a look."

"All right." The Marine replied, and looked around the corner, always keeping his Battle Rifle ready. The only thing his fellow Marines could see was him being grabbed by some sort of pitch-black hand, followed by a terrified scream.

"Shit, something happened back there!" The female yelled. "Come on!"

They ran around the corner, only to see the monster. A giant horse, with a human body on top. The remains of the Marine it grabbed were next to it. From the looks of it, the monster rammed him into a wall, causing his head to explode. It let out a loud screech, that almost caused them to go deaf.

The Marines started shooting, but the monster just started to rip them apart.

"God damn it!" The female Marine asked as one of her comrades got crushed under the hand. Without any other option, she started to flee back. "I have to get that SPNKR." She muttered to herself. Back behind the roadblock, she felt something grabbing her, and noticed that the creature managed to break parts out of the roadblock. She opened fire again, but it already had her legs. Hit lifted her into the air, before launching her back on the ground, breaking her spine.

* * *

Pyrrha drove up the catwalks, and opened fire on the Kig-Yar. They went down, their bodies cooked by the hot plasma. Meanwhile, the others took down the Wraiths, easily destroying them with their superior agility.

After all the vehicles were taken down, they went inside the building. Outside, a Pelican dropped off a Scorpion tank. The Marine at the entrance immediately saluted them. "Sir! Sir! Ma'am! Ma'am! Ma'am! Corporal Perez, A-Company! CP's this way! The Lieutnant got hit as soon as we dropped in."

"Who's in charge now, Corporal?" Cortana asked, and they started to walk up a set of stairs. Two Marines secured the position with a Machinegun and Rocket Launcher.

"Uh, Sergeant Banks, ma'am. He's up top."

The door opened, leading to a balcony, overlooking the road they just fought on. One Marine was holding a Battle Rifle, while the other one was sitting behind a Machinegun. The one with the BR turned around, while a familiar, green beam shot at something in the distance. "When I asked for reinforcements, I didn't think they'd send a Spartan." He looked at the teens. "Or four teenaagers. What the hell are those civilians doing here? And why are they dressed like fairytale characters?"

"Just ignore him." The Chief said.

Something in the backround blew up, and they all turned around, as the Scarab came into view, looking at them. "We got trouble!" Banks yelled.

The Scorpion below them shot two shots at the Scarab, to no avail. It charged its beam, and destroyed the Scorpion in one shot, while moving towards them. "See that look? It's terror." The Marine on the Machinegun said.

"Marine, did I give you permission to bitch?" Banks yelled, and Weiss took out a notebook.

"I'm gonna write that down, for when I get my promotion." She muttered.

Banks turned around. "What? Get those children out of here!"

"Watch out!" The other Marine yelled. The Scarab was walking through the catwalks, which caused the wreck of a Wraith to explode again. It send a piece of metal flying, directly into Banks direction. The Marine held up his arms, as if it would stop the deadly shrapnel. Weiss reacted, and created a glyph, saving him.

"What the...?" He turned around, and looked at Weiss. "What? How?"

"No time for explanations!" Ruby yelled. "Heads down!"

The Scarab walked over them, passing the building, and entering a nearby canal. In the process, it knocked over an antenna. "That thing is really starting to PISS ME OFF!" Banks said angry. It looked like he already forgot Weiss. "Marines, time to kill us a Scarab!"

They started their pursuit, and walked through a building, eventually arriving at the canal. Large walkways spanned over the thing, and the Scarab was passing by under them. Covenant troops came out of the Scarab onto the upper deck, and opened fire.

They followed the path of the giant, taking out all of the Covenant troops that went outside. Thanks to their higher position, they had a big advantage over the Aliens. Eventually, they reached the end of the canal, which was blocked by a wall, and the Scarab stopped. "It can't go any further! We have it trapped!" Cortana yelled excited.

"Okay, let's board that thing!" Ruby said, and they jumped onto it, before going inside.

Terminals and electronics were visible everywhere, and three Unggoy attacked them. Of course, that wasn't much of a problem.

"Be careful, that Elite is an Ultra." Cortana said.

Said Elite, which wore a silver armor, turned around, and activated his Sword. Jaune took his, and clashed blades with the Elite, while the others eliminated the rest of the crew.

"A human that uses a sword. Interesting." The Elite said, and ducked under a swing from Jaune, before kicking him into the stomach. Jaune flew backwards, against a wall. "Your species really has honor. Too bad that you're in the way of the Great Journey." He led his Sword down, but Jaune rolled to the side. He took his shield, and rammed it into the side of the Elite.

His energy shield brightened up, and broke as Pyrrha shot the Elite from behind. The Elite walked backwards, looking at both members of Team JNPR. "Seems like you lost." Jaune said.

"I'm not angry, nor said. I've died in battle, that's all that matters." The Elite responded.

Jaune and Pyrrha were a bit surprised by the statement. It looked like the Sangheili really were warriors, something they could actually admire. If only they wouldn't try to wipe out humanity. Thus, Jaune stabbed the Elite with his sword, and the Alien fell down. "Sorry."

"He's dead!" Pyrrha yelled.

"Okay, wait a minute." The Chief said, and started to type around on the control panel.

"What are you doing?" Weiss asked.

"Initiating the self destruction. And... Done."

Red lights started to blink, and they went back outside. However, the entrance started to explode before they could leave. "Uhm, Chief?" Ruby asked in panic.

"Don't worry." He took a device from his hip, and threw it on the ground. A bubble of energy appeared around them. "Hold tight!"

Explosions went off outside the shield, before the whole machine broke down, without damaging them.

"Okay, that was awesome." Ruby said. "What was that thing?"

"A bubbleshield. I took it from a Sangheili back in the park."

They left the burning wreck, and saw a Pelican hovering in front of them. "That's right! Run, you mothers! Run!" Johnson, who was inside the ship, yelled. In the distance, the Covenant carrier deactivated its lift.

 _"Not if we can help it, Sergeant."_ Miranda replied. _"Extract them and return to the In Amber Clad."_

"Roger that!"

The team went into the Pelican, which started to fly towards their ship.

 _"Status?"_ Hood asked over the comms. It seemed like Keyes was broadcasting the conversation over the comms, so that the Chief and the others could hear it.

 _"Sir, the Prophet is bugging-out. Request permission to engage!"_

 _"Negative, Commander. I'll vector two heavies for starside intercept."_

Ruby went up into the cockpit, and saw the Carrier accelerating. A blue and purple glow appeared in front of the ship.

 _"Ma'am, slipspace rupture off the target's bow! It's going to jump, inside the city!"_

 _"There's no time, sir!"_ Miranda said.

 _"Green light! Green light to engage!"_ Hood replied.

The Pelican docked to the ship, as it started to follow the Prophet.

 _"Punch it! Get us close!"_ Miranda yelled.

 _"Ma'am, without a destination solution-"_

 _"We are not loosing that ship!"_

"Commander!" Ruby yelled. "What's with Yang? And Blake? And the others?"

 _"They'll have to stay here, help out the Marines. We don't have the time to extract them!"_

"But-" Ruby was unable to finish her sentence, as they entered Slipspace behind the carrier, leaving half of RWBY, JNPR, as well as Penny, behind.

* * *

"So, how many do we have?" Yang asked. She sat inside a Pelican, across from Blake. They just came from a safe zone, where they delivered a couple of injured civilians. Now, they were on the way to an old shoolbuilding, to help secure the children inside.

"We've saved around thirty civilians. Why?"

"Well, I want to keep count. I want to have the highest count of rescues." Yang said with a smirk.

Suddenly, the ship shook, and all the electronics stopped working. "What's going on?" Blake yelled.

"Their ship just jumped! Inside the city!" The pilot screamed.

Blake stood up, and looked out of the backside of the Pelican. Windows broke, dust was rushing through the devastated streets, and aircrafts fell out of the air, as a shockwave engulfed the city, with an EMP following.

And their Pelican was no exception. The pilot lost control, and hit the top of a skyscraper. "Hold tight back there!"

"Shit, we'll all die!" One of the Marines yelled.

"Don't worry, how bad can that end? I'm sure our pilot will get back control soon." Yang assured him.

The ship shook heavily, as they saw an ODST-droppod crashing through the ship, ripping of the cockpit. "Okay, we'll all die." Yang said in shock.

They hit a giant billboard, and the ship started to turn uncontrolled. Blake lost her grip, and nearly fell out. "Yang!"

The blonde turned around, and saw Blake, hanging on the machine gun. "I'm coming!" Yang slowly made her way forward, reaching out to help her friends, as they hit a radio antenna. Blake lost her grip, and fell, into the gaping abyss between the buildings. "NO!" Yang yelled in panic, and looked down.

She didn't have much time to think about something, as the Pelican crashed through another Skyscraper, and 'landed' on a highway, which broke down, burrying the dropship under debris.

* * *

 **And Chapter 16 is out. Halo 2 will take a small brake for now, since Halo 3:ODST is the next game that's gonna happen.**

 **Anyways, I've decided to combine the 'two part missions' in Halo 2, and make one Chapter out of them. That's also what's going to happen with th efirst two mission on Delta Halo.**

 **In case anyone wonders about the events around Parisa, it's not actually known if the story is canon, since it contradicts several events in the level, and the Marines even say that their officer, which would've been Parisa, died.**

 **And before anyone asks, Blake obviously isn't dead.**

 **Now to replies:**

 **Cmedina1: But how could one actually believe that the Earth is 6.000 year old, despite literally every single piece of scientific and archaeological evidence saying otherwise?  
Anyways, the reason for that was that they didn't see too much from down there, since most of the event was blocked by the carrier. Don't worry, Tyrian doesn't get captured by the Flood, and even if, he doesn't know where Remnant is. **

**minecraft93: That will happen eventually.**

 **red october700: Nah, Penny's not in the data center. That wouldn't make much sense, since the whole complex is dedicated to the AI and controlling New Mombasa. ONI already has another facility in the city, which has enough equipment to run some experiments. As for Tyrian and the Covenant, the Covenant has no idea what Faunus are, and probably think that he's a mutant or literal monster when they find him. But Tyrian definitely wouldn't go down without a fight.  
Honestly, for using the speech-to-text thing, that was surprisingly good, considering what normally comes out of that. (Looking at you, automated YouTube subtitles.) **

**Plasma Dragon 312: So, the Master Chief is a luck vampire? Seriously though, it actually meant that they should wish the Covenant luck to survive their encounter with the Chief.**

 **Guest: Yes, that joke was necessary. (And yes, I know what it is. That's why I made a joke out of it.)**

 **Edrap: Uhm, I doubt that Raven can travel between dimensions. The only characters in RWBY that are strong enough to travel between dimensions are Zwei and the Shopkeep.**

 **ShadowLurking: It was actually a quote by Donut, but yeah, I could also hear Caboose saying that.**

 **: They'll have their usual clothing, with an added Marine jacket. They'll also get some padding and armor plating later on though.**

 **ERROR SANS: No it wouldn't. Six is dead. He is probably the most dead Character in the Halo Universe. He got stabbed, glassed, shot, and poisoned by teh Spartan in Halo 4, we'll see.  
**

 **A fan: Merlot would work in this story, but there'd have to be a way to get him to Earth, or into the Halo interviews are already done though, so there is no way I could work in a reference to Tucker.  
**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	17. Drop-In

Chapter 17: Drop-In

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Inner City**  
 **October 20; 2552; 16:00  
**

Yang shoved a big piece of debris to the side, as she left the crashed Pelican. The wreck was still burning, and she started to check if the Marines were still alive. However, it was hard to even find them, thanks to the massive amounts of debris, both from the highway and Pelican.

To her dismay, all of them were dead. She felt her arm hurting, and saw a couple of bruises on it, meaning that she only survived thanks to her Aura, and even it got depleted. With the confirmation of the Marine's deaths, she started to look around, hoping that there was any sign of where she actually was.

Not that it was easy. Yang hid under a broken billboard, as three Banshees passed by above her. And the billboard wasn't any indicator either. It only showed a commercial for a new type of car.

Most of the street signs and screens on the skyscrapers were broken too, thanks to the EMP that engulfed the entire megacity minutes ago. The only sign was the destroyed highway, and the broken cars. Yang started to walk along the wreckage.

Eventually, she came across a broken Police car, with the body of the officer next to it. A M90 Shotgun was still in his hands, and she decided to stock up on ammo. It looked like a battle took place here, as the burning wreckage of a Wraith was visible down the street. If she didn't know better, the battle was already over. But the shots in the distance said otherwise.

Blue, ionized charged particles were still hanging in the air.

Right now, Yang had one major goal: Finding Blake. Yang guessed that the Faunus was still alive. Blake wouldn't die from just a fall, especially with the grappling hook on her weapon.

While Yang walked through the narrow corridors of a building, which doors were left open, she heard shots, and decided to lay low as she approached a balcony. Dead Brutes and Elites were covering the ground. But that wasn't the big problem right now. She looked down. Two Brutes were engaging a small group of Marines, who had the assistance of an ODST.

Yang snuck behind one of the Brutes, and grabbed his back. The massive Jiralhanae turned around, and delivered a punch to her head, which send her flying into a couple of sandsacks. At least the walk here got her Aura back up again.

Apparently the Brute thought that was it, as he turned back around. Yang took the chance, and shot him into the back with her Shotgun, which immediately killed the Brute. Which, in turn, angered the other one. He tried to hit her with the blades attached to his Spiker, but Yang managed to block the attacks with her gauntlets.

She grabbed his arm, and break it with one hit. The Brute yelled out in pain, as Yang grabbed his head, and snapped the neck.

The Marines and the ODST approached her, aiming their weapons at the dead Brutes.

"Not bad, girl." The ODST said. "What's your name?"

"Dude, you don't know her?" One of the Marines asked. "That's Yang Xiao Long. She was at the ceremony up on _Cairo_. She fought alongside the Chief."

"Guilty." Yang said proud. It looked like they already got themselves a name.

"All right, Miss Xiao Long, what's your rank?"

"Oh, I'm a Corporal." She answered. "And you are?"

"Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck."

Yang leaned closer to one of the Marines. "Is Gunnery Sergeant higher than Corporal?" He nodded, and Yang looked up again. "Where are you guys going by the way?"

"I'm trying to get to one of my fellow ODSTs." Buck explained. "We came off course as we entered the atmosphere."

"Same. My Pelican crashed, and my best friend fell out." That's when Yang had an idea. "Hey, what about working together? I'll help you to get your friend, and you help me get mine."

"I'm down with that." Buck replied. "As long as it doesn't go against your orders."

"My orders are to help out wherever I can." Yang said, and cocked her Shotgun. "So, ready to kick some Alien Ass?"

"Okay, come on." Buck said, and the four made their way along the street.

It didn't take long to find another Covenant outpost. A Grunt had taken position on a balcony with a plasma turret, supporting the Jiralhanae in the area. The Humans took cover behind a burned out truck, and one of the Marines shot a plasma coil next to the turret, blowing it up. Meanwhile, Yang and Buck took the Brutes under fire, felling one of them. The other one duck down behind a car, and Yang ran to him, before pummeling the Aliens face in.

"Why are there so many Brutes here?" She asked, and wiped the blood off her gauntlets.

"I dunno." One of the Marines answered. "It's unusual. Maybe they called all the Elites back to the ship when they left?"

They walked by several roadblocks, and arrived at an intersection. They found, to their surprise, corpses of multiple Sangheili in a corner, with blood splatters and rifles everywhere.

"Whoa." Yang said, and kneeled down next to one. "Something slashed him."

"Veronica, what's with all the dead Elites?" Buck asked over the radio.

 _"What do you mean?"_

"It's like a family feud, like they were killed by Brutes. Is there something I should know?"

 _"It's classified."_

"Huh, some things never change."

"Who's Veronica?" Yang asked.

"The leader of my ODST team." Buck said. "She's part of ONI. She's the one I'm trying to find right now."

"Oh, I smell love." Yang said with a grin.

Buck starred at her. "It's more complicated than that."

"You know, I could probably help to hook you two up."

"Concentrate on the mission, Corporal." Buck replied, obviously annoyed.

"All right, calm down Bucky." Yang looked around, and saw a couple of Grunts going along the streets. "I think we should go that way."

They took out the Grunt Squad, and saw a lookout tower, with Kig-Yar on top. Grunts and more Jackals were scattered around the tower. "We got a Jackal problem!" Buck yelled, as the shot of a Carbine hit the ground next to him. At least the Jackals didn't have any Sniper Rifles.

 _"And overcharged plasma pistol shot will neutralize their shields, should also take down a Brute's armor."_ Veronica replied.

"Oh, yeah? Where were you a minute ago?" Buck said, and shot one of the Grunts with his AR.

 _"Still trapped inside my pod."_

The shot of another carbine soared through the air, cutting through Yang's hair. Her eyes turned red, and her hair set on fire. "Uhm, what's going on?" Buck asked in surprise, as Yang went out of her cover.

"She went Super-Saiyan?" One of the Marines guessed.

They looked in shock, as Yang grabbed two Kig-Yar, and bashed their heads together, killing both. The Grunts started to run, so they took them down, while Yang took care of the remaining Jackals. The Aliens tried to stop her, but she blocked their shots with their Gauntlets, or let her Aura absorb the damage, as she made her way towards them.

One of the Jackals tried to hit her with the butt of his Carbine, but Yang grabbed his lower jaw, and broke it off, before ending the Kig-Yar by breaking the rest of his skull with a punch. The other Kig-Yar tried to flee, but Yang grabbed him, and dragged the Alien to the tower, where she stepped inside the Gravity lift. It took her up to the top, where she started to beat the shit out of the last Kig-Yar with his wincing buddy.

"Jesus Christ, she's scary." One of the Marines muttered.

The tower blew up, as Yang stuck a Plasma Grenade to it, and jumped down.

"Well, that was, uhm..." Buck said, unable to find appropriate words. "Why was your hair on fire?"

Yang took a deep breath, and her eyes turned back to lilac. "That was my Semblance."

"Semblance?" Buck asked, but stopped, as one of the Marines answered his radio.

"Really? Okay, I'm on the way." He looked at the ODST and Yang. "Go on without us, the Sergeant just called us back to Safezone Delta. It sounds like there have been some incidents."

"What incidents?"

The Marines shrugged. "I dunno. Pilaging, robbery. The normal stuff in that situation."

"Okay, bye." Yang said. The two Marines saluted, and ran back into the direction they came from.

"So, where do we have to go now?" Yang asked.

Buck walked up to a big blast door, with green glowing lights. A panel was in the middle. "This switch should open the door." He pressed a button, and the door opened, revealing a big intersection, with catwalks going above. A couple of Marines had taken cover on the balcony next to a house.

They went up to the Marines, where a female one greeted them. "Troopers, we're pinned down! Flank through this building, hit 'em from behind!"

"Okay, no problem." Yang replied. "Just try not to die."

"I'm not planning on it, Ma'am."

With that, Yang and Buck went inside the building, coming across the bodies of Marines and Brutes.

 _"Buck, location?"_

"We're almost there! What's wrong?"

 _"We? Never mind, There are multiple hostiles closing in on my position. Listen carefully, if I don't make it..."_

"Whoa! Hang on, I'll be right there!"

 _"Too late, they spotted me!"_ The connection broke up, and Buck hit the side of his helmet in desperation.

"Dammit, no! Veronica? Talk to me! Don't move! We're coming, you hear?"

"Buck? I'll take the lower level, try to take out the snipers." Yang said.

"Okay, that saves us time." The ODST replied, and opened the door. Two Kig-Yar were standing on the catwalk, and taken by surprise, which made them easy to take out.

He saw Yang down on the Street, engaging a Brute. After killing the Jiralhanae, she followed another one into a building across the street. While she was in there, Buck took down the remaining Grunts and Jackals with the help of the Marines. The next road door opened, and two Hunters entered the plaza.

"Hunters?! No, I do not have time for this! Turn around you bastards, let me shoot you in the back."

The Hunters shot their beams, destroying parts of the catwalk. Suddenly, a red object flew through the air, hitting on of the Lekgolo, which immediately catched fire. Buck looked who threw the grenade, and saw Yang.

She jumped down, onto the Hunters back, and shoved her M90 into his back, killing the Hunter with a single shot, while the other one was still burning. Buck attacked him, and managed to get behind him, so that he could take it down with a salvo of his AR.

"Those Hunters seemed a bit weaker than usual." Yang said.

"Maybe they were in a fight befo-" Buck stopped, and started to run towards the direction the Hunters came from. "Veronica!"

Yang ran after him, and they arrived near a structure that led to a lowered plaza. A lone Drop-Pod was down there, with three Grunts shooting at it. Buck jumped down, and quickly eliminated the Unggoy.

He walked up to the pod, and tried to open it. "I'm here... I got ya..."

"Wait." Yang said, and helped him. Together, they managed to get the hatch off, but the inside was empty.

They heard clicking next to them, and turned around. A Huragok, wearing a strange vest and a helmet, approached them. "Aw. nuts." Buck deadpanned.

The Engineer came closer, and Buck started to walk backwards, and fall over. Yang laughed. "Don't worry, they aren't-"

"Her helmet!" Buck said, and pointed at one of the tentacles, which had Dare's damaged helmet.

"What?"

The sound of a Sniper Rifle echoed across the plaza, and the Engineer exploded, spraying blue blood on both.

They looked up, and saw two humans standing on top of a balcony. One wore an ODST armor, while the other one regular Marine equipment. They jumped down, and met up with the other two.

"What the heck was that? You ever seen one before?" Buck asked the ODST.

Yang looked at the Marine, and instantly recognized him. "Hey Bailey."

"Yang! Thank god you're okay."

Everyone starred at the ODST, who didn't say a word. "Hey, Romeo! You got your ears on?" Buck asked, and Romeo shrugged. "Oh, I get it. Permission to speak, smart ass."

Yang chuckled.

"No, I don't know what it was, but it was gonna grease your ass good. Just like it did the Captain."

"First off, I don't want to know what a tentacle creature did with her." Yang said. "Second, they aren't dangerous, they are pacifists."

"Who's the chick?" Romeo asked.

"That's Yang." Bailey explained. "One of the strongest humans I've ever seen."

"By the way, why are you with him?" Yang asked.

"We crossed paths a couple of minutes ago, and I saw you going this way. We thought you might need help." The Sniper explained.

"Romeo?" Buck asked. "Did you hear anything from Mickey or Dutch?"

"Negative."

"The Rookie?"

Romeo shook his head. "I've seen a big bird a couple of minutes ago, but that was it."

"Big bird?" Yang asked.

"Probably just an Albatross." Buck replied. "We need to get above this crap, link up with the bee-net. One of our drones must have seen where they hit." Buck suggested. "Maybe they saw your friend too."

"I hope so." Yang said.

"Wait, who? Ruby?" Bailey asked.

"No, Blake. She fell out of the Pelican after the ship jumped." She explained.

"Dammit."

"Who's Blake?" Romeo asked.

"My best friend." Yang replied. "Has yellow eyes, long, black hair, wears a bow."

"Never seen her." He replied, and turned back to Buck. "So, we're poppin' smoke on the lady's mission? She ever tell you what she wanted?"

"No... never. Doesn't matter. All I care about now is gettin' my men out of this city." He looked at Yang. "And your friend too."

Bailey looked up, and started to shake. "Uhm, you might want to see this!"

"See what?" Yang asked, and looked up. She saw two red eyes starring at her from atop a roof, before jumping down. "Is that... A Beowolf?"

The Grimm started to go sideways, looking at the four humans.

"The fuck is that thing?" Romeo asked.

"A Grimm." Yang muttered angry, before the monster attacked.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Inner City**  
 **October 20; 2552; 22:12  
**

Blake slowly opened her eyes, and looked around. She was at the edge of a street, and wasn't able to move around much, as debris was pinning her down. It was already dark outside, and the only things she saw were the sloud covered sky, and the burned out cars on the street, together with the green and red lights from the buildings and street signs. The coulds themselves were dark, with red and purple parts in them. She guessed that those came from fires and battles in the air.

It was raining, and the quietness was only interrupted by occasional gunshots, and the screeches of birds. It was rather soothing, if it wasn't in the middle of a warzone. Thanks to her being a Faunus, she was at least able to see in the dark.

She heard footsteps coming closer, and saw, to her shock, a Brute closing in. He wore a blue armor, and it looked like he either spotted, or smelled her. He came straight towards her, and, being unable to move, Blake got ready for the worst. What she didn't expect was a blue ball hitting the Brute, and blowing him up in a blue fireball.

She saw an ODST kicking the remains of the Brute, before he walked up to Blake, shoving the debris off of her.

Blake stood up, and dusted herself off, before making sure Gambol Shroud, as well as her SMG, were still working. "Thanks for saving me."

The ODST shrugged, and held his hand out. "J.D. Call me Rookie."

"I'm Blake. Blake Belladonna. How late is it?"

The Rookie checked the time on his HUD. "After 10 P.M."

"Wow. I've been out for six hours." Blake checked the magazines in her weapons. "So, why are you alone?"

J.D. shrugged. "My platoon got seperated when the ship jumped."

"Do you need any help?" Blake asked. "I'm searching for someone too. We also got seperated."

The Rookie nodded, and walked up to a close door. "Not a man of many words, are you?" Blake asked and followed him

They entered the building, and found themselves inside a dark hallway. The Rookie looked at Blake, and gestured to his eyes. Blake smiled. "Don't worry, I can see in the dark."

"How?"

"I'll explain it later."

He shrugged it off, and activated his VISR. The words _'Glass this!_ _'_ were written on the wall, and some walls were covered with glowing runes. They walked through the short corridor, eventually arriving inside a little park.

Grunts and Kig-Yar were occupying the area. Blake took aim with her SMG, and took down one of the Grunts, shifting their attention to her. One of them threw a Grenade, and hit the Faunus. It exploded, and revelead that it only hit a Shadow Clone. The Grunt went down after getting hit by a burst of fire from the Rookie, while Blake shot down the Kig-Yar. The remaining two Grunts tried to flee, but got shot in the back.

"You're good." The Rookie complemented her.

Blake smiled, and approached another door. It was easy to tell which were locked, thanks to the red or green lights on them.

It led into a reception area. It looked like a couple of Marines held off a Brute and Grunts, if the bodies and blood were anything to go by. Blake kneeled down next to the Marine, and noticed that he had slash marks across his body. "Huh, do Brutes slash their victims?"

The Rookie thought for a moment. "Occasionally."

Blake stood back up. Something still seemed weird. The marks were too deep as that a Brute could've done it, especially since the Brute was too far away from the Marine. From what she guessed, the Marine killed the Brute, and was then attacked by someone, or something, else.

She snapped out of her thoughts, as the Rookie shot at something upstairs. She quickly followed him, and saw him taking out two Jackals, which were hiding inside a small room.

There were dead Grunts and blue blood everywhere, but Blake was sure that the Rookie didn't kill them. They walked up the next set of stairs, and arrived in room that overlooked the plaza below. Something was stuck in a monitor, and a robotic voice echoed through the room. "MOTOR-VEHICLE CRASH! SEARCHING N.M.P.D DATABASE... NO MATCH!"

Blake guessed that this was the A.I. that ran the city, and looked out of the window. A Drop-Pod was crashed in the middle of the plaza. The Rookie pulled the object out of the Monitor. "LOST-AND-FOUND ITEM!" The Voice said, and Blake looked at the object. It was a helmet, with the name 'Dare' written on it.

"Who's Dare?"

"The leader of my Team." J.D replied, and looked out of the window. A black shape flew past in the distance, and quickly came towards them. "Duck!" He tackled Blake to the ground, as the shape crashed into the building.

They fell out, and saw the creature. It was a giant, pitch black bat, with a white skull. Stripes of white, bone-like material ran across it's wings. A big plate of bone was protecting the belly of the monster. "What the fuck is a Grimm doing here?" Blake yelled, and took Gambol Shroud.

"A what?"

"A Grimm. A Chiroptera to be precise." She threw the ribbon of her weapon at the Creature, and it stuck to it's neck. The Bat flew up again, and led out a loud scream, causing nearby windows to shatter. The soundwaves hurt incredibly, but the helmet of the Rookie filtered out most of the noise. It still caused him to be confused for a moment though. Blake retracted her weapon, pulling herself towards the Chiroptera, and shot a couple of rounds into it's neck.

The Grimm cried out in pain, which was once again incredibly loud. The Rookie came back to his senses, and shot some shots into the underside of the bat. The bullets bounced off, and the Rookie gulped. Blake slowly made her way to the head of the Grimm, and stabbed her sword into its eye. The bat cried out once again, and started loosing height. The Rookie shot again, this time hitting the wings, and shredding the unprotected hide.

The Bat crashed into the ground, next to the droppod, and started to dissolve. "What was that?" The Rookie asked, as he jumped down.

"A Chiroptera. Grimm that are only active during the night or in caves. They use their echolocation as weapons. Luckily, it only really damages those in front of it, even though it can still shatter nearby class." Blake explained. "And since you probably don't know, Grimm are creatures of pure darkness, that are attracted to negative emotions, and are only alive to kill humans." Blake noticed something shining next to the pod, and picked it up. It was a blonde string of hair. "That's Yangs hair." Blake said.

"Who?" J.D asked, still confused about the Grimm.

"The girl I'm searching for." Blake looked up to the building they were just in, and realized something. "I think the helmet was blown up there from here. Whatever caused that, also caused Yang to loose the hair."

"It seems like we have to work together to solve this." The Rookie said. They heard an incredibly loud screech in the distance.

"I hope they are okay." Blake muttered.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Inner City**  
 **October 20; 2552; 16:12  
**

Banks' man had just managed to regroup after Regret fled the city. They watched in awe as the Masterchief destroyed the Scarab together with Ruby, Weiss, Pyrrha and Jaune, and now tried to hold the building against the Covenant. They had gathered on the Balcony, thinking about their next steps. A necessary thing to do, seeing as the battlenet was down, thanks to the EMP.

While they were arguing, they heard someone coming up the stairs, and looked. To their surprise, they didn't see a soldier of the Covenant, but instead saw a man. He wore a brown coat, and had brown hair, which was bound together to look like a Scorpion-Tail. His eyes were golden.

"Identify yourself!" Banks yelled, and aimed his weapon at the guy.

He held up his hands. "Whoa, careful. I'm not here to make trouble. I just wanted to ask a question."

"All right, what is it?" Perez replied.

"I'm searching for someone. Have you heard of one Ruby Rose?"

The Marines exchanged confused looks. "Uhm, yes? Why?"

"Oh, I'm just searching for her. See, there's my Goddess, and she wants her dead. I'm sure you can understand that."

"Great. A crazy Cultist." Banks said. "We don't have time for this. And we definitely won't tell you where she is."

"But why not, friend?"

"'Cause she saved us." Perez replied. "Now come with us. I'm sure the authorities would like to have a word with you."

The man sighed. "You just had to make it complicated." He dashed towards Perez, while two blades came out of his gauntlets. He easily cut Perez' head off, and looked towards the shocked Marines.

"Kill that bastard!" Banks yelled, and they opened fire. The man blocked the bullets, and threw one of the Marines off the building. The two remaining Marines slit a new magazine in their weapons, but it was too late. He slashed the last Marine, before turning at Banks. "What the fuck are you?"

The man smiled, and threw off his robe, revealing white clothes. "My name is Tyrian, proud servant of our Goddess." To Banks' surprise, soemthing slit out of his back, which turned out to be an actual Scorpion-Tail.

"Go and die!"

Tyrian sighed once again, and impaled Banks on his tail.

He threw the dead Marine to the side, and looked down on the street below him. There was an entire city here, and it was in a warzone. That much was clear by the soldiers and the sound of gunshots in the distance. It was a large area, but the fact that the soldiers knew Ruby, she had to be here. And the panic resulting from the war would only make things easier for the Grimm too. This was a perfect world to invade.

"I'm going to find you, Little Rose." He said, and started laughing.

* * *

 **And Chapter 17 is out. For ODST, every Chapter will follow this formular: Normal mission from the game- Rookie and Blake- Tyrian. I've also added the current time to the location-thingy, to put the events better into perspective.  
**

 **Also, I've decided to let the Rookie talk. Lorewise, he can talk, and it's important to talk with Blake during the whole thing, since it'd be a bit hard to let them interact, and not have one of the two talk. But I'll try to keep the whole talking to a minimum.**

 **I also decided that, since the Grimm are pretty much overrunning Africa right now, it would be a good idea to bring in some new sorts of Grimm, like the Bat in this Chapter.**

 **Now to replies:**

 **Tronmaster5704: Yeah, you're right with that assessment.**

 **Edrap: Yep, I'm pretty hyped about Cross Tag Battle. It's gonna be the first fighter I'll buy since MKX, and the first one from BlazBlue in general.**

 **minecaft93: Well, it's possible that I forgot that little detail. Uhm, yeah. Let's just say the Scorpions in this timeline don't need one. (I'll probably fix that by letting them get Neural Implants either during the time on the In Amber Clad, or I'll retcon something between HCE and H2.)**

 **julini: Thanks.**

 **Cmedina1: Yep, it's roughly double the size. I honestly think that the footprints we saw in Volume 4 weren't even from the same Nuckelavee, judging by the size of the footprint and the actual Nuck.**

 **Czar Joseph: Thanks.**

 **A fan: I doubt Merlot would built his new base in the Emerald Forest, especially with the fact that he probably doesn't have many ressources left. Yeah, I have the DLC on MCC. We can do a playthrough, if I find the time. Also, the back to checkpoint thing was only in H2.**

 **Red october700: That quote is from the Legendary difficulty. Personally, the quote from heroic is my favorite. (They are all pretty great though.)  
I have no problem with a discussion. I love having them. I'd like to see that math, or book, but I doubt you still have them. As for evidence against it, there are, for example, the sculptures made out of Mammoth-Ivory by the Mal'ta -Buret' culture in Siberia (which is dated to have existed between 24.000 and 15.000 BP), or fossil finds of extinct creatures, like Dinosaurs or prehistoric Humans. And that are only two examples. (I'd post links, but the site doesn't allow it).  
That idea with the Hunter is great, but there sadly won't be any Hunters around when they meet. However, Nora can still have the same entrance when she meets up with another member of Alpha-Nine.  
Yeah, I think that people blow Rio's outburst a bit out of proportion, but there's enough evidence to suggest that the Chief already briefed them on the Didact before that. Still, Rio was kind of in the right. Cortana was going rampant, and he wanted to warn Earth and save his crew. I think I would do the same as he did. Still it'd have probably doomed humanity. (Ironically enough, Lasky and Palmer technically commited treachery by helping the Chief.)**

 **RvB Man: Seeing as I already put RvB in as a show, it'd be very awkward. But I can still put in references.**

 **: You had two right.**

 **ERROR SANS: Please, do not ship the Cardboard cut-out of an ODST with the actual character. (As much as people might hate to admit it, the Rookie isn't really a character). Seriously though, he'll die like he did in the standard Halo-Timeline. Being captured by an Innie and getting his brains blown out. This will actually play a role between H3 and H4. As for the Arbiter, you'll see.**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	18. Day at the Zoo

Chapter 18: Day at the Zoo

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Uplift Reserve**  
 **October 20; 2552; 16:36**

The Uplift Reserve always was an important location in New Mombasa. Families and tourists came here every day to watch the wildlife, ranging from Zebras to Elephants. A lot of the species were endangered a long time ago, but with the invention of spacetravel, a lot of them had been brought to colonies for extensive breeding programs, and then brought back to Earth. Still, Uplift was of upmost importancy for keeping those populations alive.

Not only that, but the famous Space Elevator was close by, making it a perfect tourist attraction, and an important source of income for the Megacity. And even now, in the endgame of the Human-Covenant-War, it was an important area. The Prophet or Regret chose the reserve as his landing zone, and now the UNSC was intent on taking it back.

While the engagements were going on, a certain, hammer-wielding girl was helping with another issue. Well, important to her, and the administration of the park. It wouldn't really have any impact on the war itself.

"Get in there!" Nora yelled, as she pushed a Gnu inside a cage. The animal fit in, and Nora closed it. "Okay! That have been all of them!"

The Marine driving the Truck gave her an okay, and drove off. With that, all of the animals were secured, and on the way to a special evacuation zone. Technically, she should've helped with the battles, but the park had its own objectives, and the UNSC saw a better chance in getting Nora to take care of the animals, rather than putting an entire squad Marines on it.

With her task done, Nora started to make her way to the next goal: A position where a couple of Marines were being intercepted by Covenant troops. She saw an ODST entering the area from the beach, but ignored him for now, and took on the Covenant forces, consisting of Brutes and Grunts.

She hit the Brute with her hammer, and activated the gravity generator, ripping the Brute apart. The Grunts tried to flee, but where shot down by the Marines. Plasma came down close to them, and Nora saw a Wraith closing in. She was about to jump into cover, as she saw a red line going from the ODST to the Wraith. A second later, a laser hit it, and the Wraith exploded instantly. "What the-?"

Nora joined the relieved Marines, and looked at the Weapon the ODST was carrying. It was a giant, green box. "Thanks for the assist, trooper!" One of the Marines said. "And you too, Miss Valkyrie."

Nora saluted. "Always glad to help. What's that thing?" She pointed at the Weapon.

"A Spartan Laser. Pretty powerful."

"Yeah, seems like it." Nora said, a bit jealous. "What's our objective now?"

"Get this Warthog movin', our CO needs us to clear this sector!" The Marine said.

"Affirmative." The ODST replied, and tried to push the Warthog over.

"Let me do that." Nora said, and cracked her knuckles. She grabbed the side of the Jeep, and pushed, flipping it over effortlessly.

"Wow, not bad." The ODST said. "What's your name?"

"I'm Nora Valkyrie."

"Oh, you were at the ceremony, weren't you?" He answered. "I'm Taylor Miles. Call me Dutch."

She shook his hand. "Hey, why are you alone?"

"My Squad got scattered as the ship jumped."

"I don't wanna interrupt anything, but we got Covenant incoming." The Marine interrupted, and sat down in the Warthog. Dutch took the wheel, while Nora manned the Machinegun.

They started the car, and drove into the more open parts of the area, where Wraiths and Ghosts were driving around. And, what interested Nora the most, some sort of Bike, with a giant front wheel. Nora waited for the right moment, and jumped off, grabbing the bike, and kicking the Brute out of it.

Luckily, the Marine reacted fast enough, and took over the gunner position, while Dutch was cursing about Nora's sudden change of plans. Nora looked at the controls, and found that they were pretty similiar to those of a Ghost. She started the engine, and began to drive around. The front wheel dug deep into the dirt.

"This is awesome!" Nora yelled, and pressed a button. Grenades left the front of the vehicle, blowing up a stone in front of her. "Even more awesome! I think I've found my new favorite vehicle!"

She pulled the Chopper around, and rammed a nearby Ghost. The wheel dug into the vehicle, and destroyed it in one go. Metal and parts of the Brute inside wrapped around the wheel. "Yep, new favorite Vehicle."

She heard an explosion, and turned around. She saw the last Wraith blowing up. The Warthog drove up to her. "What the hell was that?" Dutch asked.

"Hey, I always wanted to drive a bike." Nora defended herself.

Dutch sighed.

"Colonel!" The Marine said into his radio. "Sector's clear, and we've found some backup!"

 _"Say again, Marine? I got Drones overhead and ONI brass yellin' in my ear! And then there are those things that are attacking everywhere."_

"ODST reporting for duty, sir!" Dutch answered.

 _"Nice of you to drop in, Trooper. Head through the park to my second platoon's location! They're taking heavy casualties, need immediate assistance. And take Corporal Valkyrie with you."_

"Roger that, I'm Oscar Mike."

 _"Where's the rest of your team, trooper?"_

"Scattered, dead. I don't know."

"Wow, someone cares about his friends." Nora scoffed.

 _"That's too bad. We're gonna need all the men we can get."_

They heard the sound of something coming through the path that led to the next section of the park, and saw a Wraith coming towards the position, accompanied by another Ghost. Once again, Nora crashed throught he Ghost, while the Warthog took down the Wraith.

With the forces dealt with, they went ahead, arriving at little plaza in front of a building, with a small shack at the side. Nora jumped out of her Chopper and started to looked through the shack.

"What are you doing?" Dutch asked.

"Scavenging." Nora said, and opened the door. "That's what people normally do in this situat-" She stopped, and nearly vomitted, as the stench from inside entered her nose. It seemed like that building was used to store animal dung. She quickly closed the door again, and went back into her Chopper.

"Stinks, doesn't it?" Dutch asked, obviously amused.

"Shut up."

They drove through the small intersection, and arrived in another big area. Two Jackals had put up some Covenant roadblocks to block the way, but it was no problem for Nora's Chopper. To their surprise, they were already able to hear shots from up ahead.

"Are there still Marines here?" Dutch asked.

"Nope, not that I know." Nora said. "I think most of them entered the city with Ren."

"Ren?"

"My friend. He was supposed to get to an ONI building." Nora explained. "That only leaves... No."

"What is it?" Dutch asked, and Nora started to drive ahead, only to stop and stare in shock. A big horde of Beowolf were tearing apart Covenant Forces.

One of the Beowolf pulled a Grunt out of a Shade, and ripped him apart in the air. However, he was quickly dispatched by a Brute. Two Griffons were circling above them, coming down from time to time to pick up a Grunt or Brute.

"What the hell?" Dutch yelled.

"Grimm!" Nora said angry. "At least it's not the Flood."

"The what?"

Nora ignored him, and drove away, aiming at a Beowolf that was pinning down a Brute, and crushing his head with its jaws. Nora rammed it, and the Beowolf was burried under the wheel, and ripped apart by the attached blades. A couple more Grimm that were fighting on top of a small cliff noticed that, and jumped down, only to be mowed down by the Warthog.

"We don't have time for this!" The Marine yelled.

"Okay, then let's just drive through 'em." Nora suggested. "I doubt they'll follow us."

Dutch accepted the idea, and they rushed throught the battle, mowing down Covenant and Grimm forces while doing that. The way led into a ravine, and only a couple of single Beowolf were along the way, and easily killed.

 _"Trooper, you're almost at second platoon's location. Give 'em a hand and push to the primary objective. But be careful, we've spotted something big up ahead."_ The Colonel said over the comms.

"What is the objective, Colonel?" Dutch asked.

 _"You know the Covenant carrier that slipped away from the city? We need to secure its old LZ. Snatch a Tier One asset."_

Dutch looked at Nora. Even though the helmet hid his face, Nora could tell that he was asking her what exactly the asset was. "I've no Idea. I was tasked with evacuating the animals, and then help to secure the LZ."

Dutch sighed. "Well, let's just secure that damn LZ."

They left the Ravine, and found themselves at a big visitor building. Marines were pinned down by a heavy Covenant force, including Wraiths, Choppers, Ghosts, Shades and Infantry. However, no one was up on the hill near the way out of the area, except for a couple of Grimm, which looked content on staying there. From time to time, black smoke was rising from there.

Nora crushed one of the Ghosts under her, and then shot down a group of infantry. Meanwhile, Dutch drove around the Wraiths, enabling the Marine to shoot them in the back, and destroy them. The last Wraith managed to get off a shot into the distance, but exploded nonetheless.

It only took a couple of minutes, and the Covenant forces were dealt with. Nora and Dutch linked up with the Marines, and helped them to get their Warthog back up, before going up on the hill, to take out the Beowolf.

To their surprise, another, strange Grimm was in the middle of the hill. It looked like some sort of slime, that slowly melted, creating a strange, pitch-black puddle. The ground around the 'puddle' was full of black veins, that slowly extended.

"What is that?" Dutch asked, and came closer to it. It didn't react.

"That's weird." Nora said, and took a closer look. She took a stone, and threw it in. It should've been big enough to stick out, but it got swallowed whole, as if the pool was some sort of black hole.

"Uhm, we still have an objective." The Marined pointed out. "Maybe we should get going."

"Right." Dutch answered. He drove away, and Nora followed him. She guessed that this was just some sort of unusual Grimm, that served as some sort of trap.

They entered the next building, and were on a giant bridge. Nora looked up, and saw the Space Elevator going up into the dirty, brown colored sky. The bad thing was that she was also able to see hundreds of flying Grimm circling around the Elevator.

Suddenly, small explosions went off in the elevator, and entire sections imploded. Debris got sent into the air, as the tether collapsed. A memorial of human engineering and technology, gone. A shwockwave rolled over the area, and parts of the Elevator crashed into different places in the park. The sky became even more dirty, and the cable that connected the base to the platform in Orbit slowly flew up into the sky, dragging over rooftops along the way, before disappearing into the sky, carried away by the orbital station. The part that was still connected to the base fell down, crushing buildings close to it.

"The Space Elevator..." Nora muttered in disbelief. "It's gone." She was shocked. This was the first time she actually saw the destructive power of the Covenant, and she realised just how strong their opponent was.

"The Slipspace rupture must've weakened the support rings." One of the Marines explained.

The comm came to live, and the Colonel started talking. He breathed heavily, and coughed. It sounded like he was hit by the debris. _"All units, target assets are... on the move. Everyone clear the area... before more debris comes down."_ He coughed one last time, before the connection died.

"Colonel? Sir? Damn it, he's gone." The Marine on the Machinegun said. "Head up the next hill! We gotta find a way outta this park."

They followed his lead, and left the bridge, entering the next area of the zoo. Heavy dustclouds filled the air, and a part of the Elevator had dug itself deep into a rock, with multiple more pieces further up. They drove up the hill, and noticed multiple destroyed Shades, and the remains of a Watchtower.

The question what happened was quickly anwered, as they arrived on top of the hill. The landing pad was here. However, so was the thing that slaughtered the Covenant troops.

"Goliath!" Nora screamed, as the Elephant-Grimm grabbed the second Warthog with its trunk, and crushed it, killing the Marines inside.

Dutch and Nora drove around it, and took cover in a nearby trench. Wounded Marines were sitting here. "What is this thing?" One of them asked.

"A Goliath." Nora answered. "One of the most dangerous Grimm I know." She pulled out her Datapad, and opened up a file.

"What are you doing?" Dutch asked. "Man, I'm sure asking this a lot today."

"We can't pierce its hide with our weapons." Nora said. "But if we're lucky... Yep, we're lucky."

"What is it?" One Marine asked.

"Keep it busy." Nora replied, and ran off. She took something from a destroyed Hog, before disappearing behind a hill.

"Did she just go AWOL?" Another Marine asked, and the ground started to shake. They looked up, and saw the Goliath charging at them. They duck, and everyone survived the attack, except for one Marine, who got crushed under the foot of the monster.

"Shit!" Another Marine yelled in panic, and shot the Goliath with his AR. The Elephant grabbed him with his trunk, and stuffed the poor devil into its mouth.

The others started to run in panic, and a Wraith entered the LZ. It shot at the Goliath, but the Grimm took a Chopper, and threw it right into the shot, blocking it. The Goliath charged at the Wraith, and impaled it on its tusks, before throwing it away, off the hill.

"Jesus Christ, what is this thing?" Dutch asked, and jumped into cover behind a couple of stones. It took him a moment, but he noticed that two Grunts had also taken cover behind it.

He was about to shoot them, as one of the Grunts pushed his gun away, and pointed at the Goliath. "This thing. Main priority. For Covenant and Humans."

"Are you serious? You're willing to work together with us?"

"Only for that. Killed Flipyap. We went to Nipple academy together. Want revenge."

Dutch sighed. He wasn't glad to do this, but at least they had some back-up against the Goliath. And he could still kill them afterwards anyways. "Well, do you have an idea?"

"You have scary laser, right? Maybe that'll help."

Dutch thought about it, and gave it a shot. He aimed at the creature's eye, and shot. It held up it's trunk in the last second, blocking the shot with a Wathig it was carrying.

"Oh, shit." Dutch muttered, as it came towards them. The Grunts panicked, and ran away, down the hill. "So much for the backup."

Bullets hit the side of the Goliath, and it turned around, seeing the Marine that previously manned the Machinegun. He grabbed the Machinegun of the broken Hog, and shot it at the Goliath. It simply grabbed him, and strangled him, while slowly bringing him to its mouth. Dutch had to look away, as the force of the trunk squeezed the organs out of the Marine.

With all the Marines dead, the Goliath turned towards Dutch, and started to walk towards him. Dutch went down on his knees. "Dear Lord, what did I do to deserve this end?"

He closed his eyes, as the ground shook again, and trumpeting was heard. Dutch looked up a nearby hill, and saw the last thing he expected. Nora came back, and was riding an African Elephant. She had a Machinegun in front of her.

"To Victory!" Nora yelled, and the Elephant started to charge at the Goliath. The Grimm was unable to react in time, and the tusks of the Elephant dug deep into the side of the Goliath, piercing the thick hide.

The Goliath cried out in pain, and tried to retaliate, but was stuck. The attack took a lot of energy from the Grimm, and it was unable to fight off the Elephant, which slowly pushed the Grimm towards the hill.

Eventually, the Goliath managed to hit the side of the Elephant with its trunk, and the Mammal stumbled back, releasing the Grimm. It turned around, obviously weakened. However, Nora took that possibility in consideration, and grabbed the Machinegun she ripped off a Warthog, and shot the Grimm into the eyes from the back of her Elephant.

The Grimm was stunned by the attack, and Nora used the chance to grab her hammer, and jump up into the air, before hitting the creature onto the head, releasing a Gravity wave. The Grimm fell onto the ground, and stopped moving. Nora nodded, and walked up to the dumbfound Dutch, followed by her Elephant.

"Did you just tame a fucking Elephant?" Duch asked.

"Well, yeah. I wasn't able to evacuate any animals in this sector, and figured the Elephant might still be alive. I've already requested a pick up for it though." Nora patted the creature on the leg. "Come on, get down there. They'll pick you up."

The Elephant trumpeted, and put his trunk on her head, going through her hair, before walking off.

"You're something else." Dutch said, and looked around. A functioning Warthog was next to the dead Goliath, and he walked up to it. "Come on, we've got to get out of here."

Nora nodded, and went into the Gunnerseat, before Dutch drove off into the next ravine. Wrecks of Wraiths were burning everywhere, implying that the Goliath had already killed everything here. The Infantry in this section was also reduced to mere bloodsplatters and body parts.

"So, what was that thing?" Dutch asked.

"A Creature of Grimm. Monsters of pure darkness that are attracted to negative emotions, and only live to kill sentient species. I have no idea what they're doing here though."

Nora looked back, making sure that no Covenant soldier would attack them, as she saw something big coming from where they just came from. It took a moment until she realised what it was. "Uhm, Dutch? I think the Goliath wasn't dead after all."

"What?" Dutch looked into the mirror, and saw the Goliath taking up speed. "Shit!" He looked around, and saw a hole in the wall surrounding the Reserve, leading directly into a plaza below. "Hold on!"

Nora took his advice, and held on, as he drove through the hole. They flew through the air, before the Warthog crashed into the plaza, turning over a couple of times, and bouncing off the ground. Nora and Dutch managed to jump out, just before the Hog crashed into a wall.

They looked up, and saw the Goliath falling down the hole. It was really angry at them to follow them here. However, with it being weakened, it didn't manage to land, and crashed into a monument in the middle of the plaza, completely impaling itself on it. It's tusk managed to scratch Nora's skirt, before the creature stopped struggling, and evaporated.

"Ugh, that was a mission." Dutch said. "Please, Lord. I didn't train to be a pilot. Tell me I don't have any more flying to do today, or monsters to fight."

A drone flying over them fell down, as it was attacked by a small Nevermore, and crashed into the plaza, which caused the optic to fall off. Nora shot down the Nevermore with her BR before it could attack.

"So... Is that a yes or a no?"

Behind him, the Warthog exploded. "Amen."

"So, what now?" Nora asked.

"You said your friend was heading to that ONI building?" Dutch asked.

"Yeah."

Dutch took his gun from the Warthog, and checked if it was still working. "We should go there. There's a chance that my troop is there too."

Nora nodded determined. "Okay, let's go."

* * *

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Inner City**  
 **October 20; 2552; 22:27**

Blake was surprised about the state of the city. From what she heard about the Covenant, she would have guessed that they would have just glassed the city, and then the whole planet. But something was wrong. Sure, it was only one ship, and that one ship bailed out, but it didn't even attack the city directly. It only dropped off a large amount of troops.

And then there was the fact that the Grimm were here, on Earth. She didn't know how they got here, but had the feeling that the Covenant was behind that. The only question was how many Grimm there were. If it was only a hand full of them, then her first guess was that the Covenant captured them on Installation 04, and then dropped them off on Earth. But the Chiroptera spoke against that idea. Only Grimm from the Emerald Forest got transported with them, and the only location she knew was home to Chiroptera was Menagerie.

"Hey, watch out." She was ripped out of her thoughts, as the Rookie pushed her to the side. If it wasn't for him, she would've stepped into the remains of a Hunter. Judging by the hole in the back, the creature was killed with a Shotgun.

Apparently she had followed the Rookie unknowingly up to this big plaza, lost in thought. A catwalk was spanning over it, and it looked like a big battle had taken place here. Another dead Hunter was on the ground nearby, and was scorched black, as if it was burned.

"Sorry, I was in thought." Blake said.

"About those Grimm?" Rookie asked.

"Yeah. I can't say too much, but they shouldn't be here. I have to get to the bottom of this."

"We can do that when we found our teams." The Rookie looked up, and pushed Blake down.

"Hey!"

"Quiet, there's someone coming."

Blake was surprised that she didn't hear anything, but guessed that J.D may had some special equipment. They snuck around a couple of trashcans, and saw three Brutes coming around the corner.

"You just had to throw that Huragok?" One of them said. It looked like they had an argument.

"What should I've done? That... thing attacked me." The other Brute replied. "We still have enough of them left anyway."

"What are they talking about?" The Rookie whispered.

"It sounds like they've thrown an Engineer at something. Most likely a Grimm." Blake explained. "Wait here." She jumped into a dark corner, and snuck up to the Brutes, silently wrapping her ribbon around the neck of one, and strangling him. He fell down quietly, and Blake repeated the process with the next one.

"What are those things even? I've never seen something like this." The last Brute said. "Verus? Did you hear me?" He turned around, and saw Blake, as well as the bodies of his comrades.

He threw his weapon away, and charged at Blake, who dodged the attack, and cut into his side with the blade of Gambol Shroud. The Brute yelled out in pain, but it didn't stop him. He turned back around, and managed to grab Blake before she could create a Shadow Clone.

The Rookie jumped out of his cover, and climbed on the back of the Brute, before stabbing his knife into the Brutes eye. He let go of Blake, who instantly stabbed him through the abdomen, and spine.

With the Brutes dealt with, they continued their way along the streets.

"So, these Grimm, are they all bats?" J.D asked.

"No, they come in different forms. But they mostly represent animals. Or mythological creatures."

"Are they, like, mutated animals?"

"That was a guess when they first appeared back home, but it has been proven wrong since. Other theories included that they were the possessed spirits of mutilated animals, or that a dark god created them. But nearly all of them are wrong, as far as science is concerned. Right now... There simply isn't an answer."

"Wait, where is your home?" The Rookie took a closer look at Blake. "Falaknuma?"

"No, it's a bit mor-" Blake stopped, and the ears under her bow twitched. She tackled the Rookie, and dragged the surprised ODST under a bus.

"What?"

"Be quiet, and try to concentrate on something happy."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it!" Blake hissed, and he complied.

They heard footsteps coming closer, and then what sounded like the clacking of hoofes. Four massive legs stepped in front of the bus, one hoofes, and the other ones claws. Two large hands were dragged along the ground at the side, and featured long claws.

"What the..." J.D muttered.

"Try to think happy thoughts. They can sense negativity, remember?"

He nodded, and waited. The legs stopped.

"Is it frozen?"

Suddenly, the whole body shook, and the Grimm let out a loud screech. The windows of the bus shattered, and it nearly broke Blake's ears. Without doing anything else, the monster continued it's walk. Blake held the Rookie down until even she couldn't hear the Monster anymore.

"That thing was massive."

"Yeah, it's one of the biggest Grimm I've ever seen." Blake said. "I hope we don't have to run into it again."

"How far can they sense negativity?" The Rookie asked.

"Depends on the Grimm. I don't exactly know how they do it in the first place, but I'd guess that they sense the adrenalin and other stuff the body gives off."

"Sounds reasonable. Shall we continue?"

They continued their walk through the city, and came through another roadgate, which led to a big plaza. The remains of a Warthog were laying at a wall, and the monument in the middle of the plaza looked like something big landed on it. A hole in the wall enabled them to get a small glimpse into the sky above the Uplift Reserve.

The Rookie approached an object on the ground, and picked it up. It twitched, and sparks flew out. "What's that?" Blake asked.

"Looks like an optic." He looked into the direction of the destroyed Warthog, and Blake walked up to a piece of fabric on the ground.

"This is from Nora's skirt."

"Another one of your friends?"

Blake nodded. "I think she jumped down from up there with the Warthog." Blake pointed at the hole. "I remember that she was send into the Reserve. Do you know where she might have gone?"

The Rookie thought for a while. "Maybe the ONI building?"

"The what?"

"The Office of Naval Intelligence has a base in the city, if I remember correctly. I can imagine that the UNSC send people there too keep the Covenant out."

"And where is it?"

Lights appeared inside his helmet, and he pointed south. "Over there. It's pretty close."

"Well, then maybe they're still there" Blake said.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Inner City**  
 **October 20; 2552; 16:30  
**

"Where could she be?" Tyrian said out loud, as he was following the street in the city. He had to admit, the city was impressive. Not only the giant skyscrapers, but also the massive tower that was piercing the sky in the distance. And judging by the Nevermore around it, the Grimm already went to work.

Broken and burning wrecks laid along the street, and the occasional gunfire could be heard in the distance. Tyrian wasn't exactly sure if he could find his target, but he was sure that Ruby was in the city, considering that the battles were still going, and she probably wouldn't leave until the humans were safe.

He was walking through an small alleyway, onto a broad street. Surprised, he stopped at what he saw. Two beings, one looking like a big ape, the other one thinner, were talking. Or rather, had an argument.

"This is madness! The Prophets would never agree to that!" The thin creature yelled. Tyrian noticed that the mouth of the creature was consisting of four mandibles.

"You still don't understand. Your Species has overstayed its welcome. The Jiralhanae will follow the Prophets on the Great Journey, not the Sangheili."

"Who told you that?"

"The Prophet of Truth himself made the plan with our Chieftain Tartarus." The Ape replied. He laughed.

"Regret won't allow this!"

The Jiralhanae started laughing loudly. "Fool! Soon, Regret will loose his power!"

The Sangheili pressed his mandibles together. "You'll pay for this."

"What? Do you want to ally yourself with the humans?" As if he prepared him for this moment, the Brute took a soldier, and broke his skull in his hand.

"If I must. At least they have honor, other than your species." The Sangheili drew his sword.

"So it's a fight you want." The Jiralhanae replied, and grabbed a big weapon from his back. It had a curved blade.

The Sangheili charged forward, cutting into the weapon. The Jiralhanae grabbed the Sangheili's head, and twisted it, breaking his neck. Then, the Brute threw the limp body away as if it was a bag of garbage.

Tyrian applauded, and left his hiding spot. "Bravo! Bravo!"

The Jiralhane instantly turned around, and aimed his weapon at the Faunus. "Idiotic, to just come out like this."

"I wanna make you an offer." Tyrian said calmly. "There's a Goddess, who would love nothing more than see Humanity perish. And, as I'd guess, you have the same goal. So what if we work tog-" The Faunus stopped, as a magnesium spike flew past his face, nearly hitting him.

"Forget it. You and your inferior Species will perish, as is the will of the Prophets, and the Gods. In the name of the Great Journey!" He swung his weapon at Tyrian, but he blocked it, and retaliated by cutting into the side of the Jiralhanae.

"Too bad." He said, and laughed.

The Brute grabbed Tyrian's arm, and tried to twist it. However, he felt something scratching his side, and looked in shock. "You've got a tail? Demon!"

He tried to attack again, but Tyrian blocked the attack with his tail, before slitting the Jiralhanae's throat with it. The Brute fell down, and Tyrian looked around. It was a shame that working together with them might not work, but he ould still find his target. There would just be another inconvinience along the way.

The ground shook, and Tyrian saw how the giant tower collapsed in the distance. A piece of debris flew over him, and dug deep into a building, which collapsed.

Or maybe it was more than an inconvinience.

* * *

 **And Chapter 18 is out.**

 **I previously said that Ren was going to meet Dutch, and that was originally the case, but then I thought that Nora would make more sense for the events, and could make for more interesting moments.  
**

 **Now to replies:**

 **Cmedina1: Thanks for pointing out that I got the ranks mixed up. I corrected that little mistake. As for the Grimm, it's not that easy. They can appear around almost every bigger Forerunner structure in the galaxy, and we all know that the Forerunners kept their stuff laying around on every second planet. And none of them would want to Orbital strike their cities and all their planets again and again. About Tyrian: I doubt he could do much against a Tank, or a couple of Machineguns. They can definitely take him down if they do it right.**

 **BlazefireDrago: It's a good amount of time between the arrival of the Grimm and the glassing of the city, enough time for Grimm to leave the immediate area. (Also, they appeared everywhere around the portal, meaning that they are around Voi and Tsavo as well).**

 **Plasma Dragon 312: Well, it's actually interesting to think about who of the two would win. I'd argue that Tyrian could be faster, but unable to get through the armor. In the end, it would depend on the situation. However, his plan was to make sure Ruby was there, and then ask around where she was. Obviously, the plan won't work.**

 **julini: Thanks**

 **Tronmaster5704: Honestly, right now I'm not quite sure if Tyrian will actually survive H3:ODST, but I have scenarios for both possibilites. One of them involves the Arbiter.**

 **Gundam-Knight-Chris: He'll die when he dies. I obviously won't spoil when that happens.**

 **.549: Yep, that's what I love about them too. In a way, it makes them the most sympathetic out of the Covenant species, besides maybe the Grunts and Jackals.**

 **A fan: Well, from what I've planned with how the Forerunners were involved with Remnant, it wouldn't make sense for a second facility, and especially one like that, to be on Remnant.**

 **ERROR SANS: Nah, he'll still die by the hands of the Innies. It's a pretty important moment, and more or less causes Buck, Romeo and Mickey to become ODSTs.  
Also, your fourth review seemed a bit aggressive. I know the Rookie has also a backround, the Carboard cut-out was merely refering to him in Halo 3:ODST. I actually forgot that Banks and Perez came to Installation 05 too. Let's just say Ruby, Weiss, Jaune and Pyrrha took their seats in the Pelican.  
And no, I don't get angry about not being able to dual-wield. (In fact, that's a feature I couldn't care less about. Weapon balance is more important, and hard to achieve with dual-wielding.)  
**

 **Dis Guy: Yes, he will be. And annoyed, as well as frustrated and angry.**

 **red october700: I highly doubt that it is even possible to track Jesus' bloodline, considering that there aren't many detailed mentions of him outside the holy books. And then there's the fact that poor poeple probably didn't write down their family trees back then, and definitely not 6.000 years ago (That was actually the time writing was invented, so that makes it even more unlikely.) I also couldn't find anything on his bloodline, except for his parents, which, again, are only really mentioned in the Bible.  
Carbon Dating uses C14. The Stone from Mount Helens isn't a good example, since it was formed millions of years ago, and just came to the surface due to the eruption. Carbon Dating is actually accurate, and Paleontologists often use the rock layers the fossil is in too.  
To be fair, Noble Six at least talked during the campaign. The Rookie suffered an extreme case of the 'Link-syndrome', where he can only express himself through grunts.  
For the gap between 3 and 4, I'm planning on doing Chapters, each concentrating on a different character, and each Chapter is it's own little story. (For example battles against the URF, Grimm or Covenant remains). The rough outline for that 'Arc' is that they do their work as Huntsmen and try to help the people wherever possible.  
The Dawn thing would be problematic. Other than a Spartan, they'd need the medicine necessary for Cryo-Sleep, and wouldn't be able to breath as soon as the Ship ripped apart. (Not to mention the radiation.)  
I'll probably put in a nod to the Easter Egg, but not much more.  
About Yang, looking back, I don't think anyone who saw that actually survived, but the Covenant mostly know about the abilities of the teenagers, even though the Prophets try to play it down. **

**Chap. 17: I didn't know that this was the translation for it. Good to know. And yeah, Tyrian reminds me of Cicero too. And Junkrat.**

 **Edrap: Don't worry, Tyrian won't be in that area at that time.**

 **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**


	19. Blow me away

Chapter 19: Blow me away

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Kizingo Boulevard**  
 **October 20; 2552; 17:36**

At this point, the Battle for Earth already waged for over three hours. And the center of that final conflict was New Mombasa, a Megacity in Africa. And it wasn't going well for humanity. The Covenant occupied most of the City, and the Grimm were attacking both sides relentlessly.

For the survivors inside the City, this was their last time on Earth. With the attack, negative emotions set in. Anger, Fear, Sadness, Despair. Who wasn't killed by the Covenant was killed by the Grimm.

And as if that wasn't enough, angry people saw their time for revenge, or to take from others. At this point, even Humans were their own enemy.

And in the middle of this was Lie Ren. His mission was to get to the ONI Alpha Site in the city, and help securing the data, but he couldn't ignore the civilians, thanks to his own home being destroyed in a similiar event, minus the Alien Empire.

Right now, he was tending to a man, who's leg got crushed under debris from the Space Tether. He applied a bit of Biofoam, and then wrapped a bandage around the limb.

"It should be able to heal now. Just try not to put too much weight on it."

"Thanks man. Have you seen my family?"

Ren looked at the ground. "No, I'm sorry."

"Dammit. I've got seperated from them at the Intersection in Sector nine."

He clenched his teeth. Ren heard what happened over there. A whole Evacuation Zone, overrun by the Grimm. "I'm sure they are fine." Sure, it was a lie, but with the hope to see his family again, the man was probably faster at the next Evacuation Zone. "You know where the LZ is?"

The man nodded. "Yeah, thanks." He stood up, and took a metal pipe Ren gave him, to keep himself up. He departed into the buildings, followed by a Marine.

 _"Can we move now, Corporal?"_

"Yes, we can." Ren responded. The Commander of the troop he was assigned to was going on about the main objective for the whole time. On one hand, Ren couldn't say it was a bad thing that the Commander wanted to reach their goal ASAP, but on the other hand, he couldn't just leave all the civilians behind.

The sound of treads rolling across broken asphalt was heard, as the heart of the platoon drove by. A M808C Scorpion tank. "Come on, we have to hurry!" One of the Marines yelled.

"What? Is some-" At that moment, an explosion went off, as a nearby car was hit by a Wraith. "Oh."

He ran alongside the Scorpion, down a street, until they came around a corner, and arrived at a junction. A lone ODST entered the same area from another street. "Hey! Where's the fight at?"

"Take a guess, genius!" One of the Marines yelled while running by.

The ODST went onto the junction, and quickly dove behind a bus, as the Wraith came around the corner. The shot hit the street, and the impact threw him off his feet. "Son of a gun!"

"Wanna live? Then get your ass out of the street!" One of the Marines yelled. They and Ren had taken cover under a building, while clearing the immediate area of enemy Infantry. Another, empty Scorpion stood across the street.

The Scorpion shot, soaring past the ODST, and hitting the Wraith, denting its hull. "Wait for me!" He started to run to the others, taking cover next to Ren, and readying his Rocket Launcher. He looked at Ren, obviously confused. "Are you a Soldier?"

"Yes." Ren shot Stormflower, mowing down a Grunt. "Why?"

"Well, you look a bit young. And like a Ninja."

The conversation was interrupted as another Wraith shot hit nearby, nearly hitting the Scorpion. The ODST aimed at the Wraith, and shot. The Rocket hit the previously harmed spot, blowing up the Wraith. "Oh hell yeah!"

"Good shot, soldier!" One of the Marines said. "Now, get into the Tank, and start shooting, or we're screwed!"

The ODST went over to the empty Scorpion, and took the driver seat, shooting into a group of soldiers, and blowing all the Jiralhanae and Grunts to pieces. With the help of the two Scorpion, they were able to clear the area in no time.

The coupld of Grimm snatching fleeing Covies were also a considerable help.

"All right, good work, trooper! Covenant's been rollin' us back block by block, and both sides are getting attacked by Monsters. Every Marine in the City is heading for a rally point near the Naval Intelligence building. You oughta come with us."

"We could use someone to drive the tank." Ren added.

"Will be done." The ODST said, happy to be able to use the massive weapon. "By the way, I'm Michael Crespo." He added, while looking at Ren. "Call me Mickey."

With that taken care of, the platoon started to make their way through the town, blowing up Covenant forces, as well as Grimm, left and right. Along the way, more Marines joined them, all going towards the same rally point. Behind them, they left a path of destruction. Right now, property damage wasn't something anyone was concerned with.

"So, can we still save this city?" Ren asked as they were going towards one of the big gates that blocked off the different sectors of the City.

"Unlikely." One of the Marines answered. "There are those 'Grimm' and Covies everywhere. Right now, it's just damage control and scorched earth."

"What are these Grimm anyways?" Mickey asked over the radio. "I met them before joining you."

"They are our biggest enemy right now, along with the Covenant." Ren said.

"Exactly." One of the Marines added. "ONI prepared a briefing package about them. Try to read through it as soon as we have a little pause."

They opened the gate, and found themselves on a big plaza, caught in a threeway battle between the Covenant and Grimm. Explosions echoed across the area, as a nearby Gauss fired, and a Wraith was turned into scrapmetal. Ren looked to the Turret, and saw that it stood on a balcony, and was probably able to hit everything in the area from there.

 _"Gauss turret's hot, ready to fire!"_ The Marine controlling it said over the comms.

 _"Relax, Marine, wait 'till they're in the kill zone!"_ Another voice answered over the comms.

"That's Dutch." Mickey said happy. "Let's meet up with him."

Suddenly, a loud screech was heard, and a big Nevermore sat down on a nearby rooftop. The Gauss fired, and pierced through the Monster. However, it didn't interest the Nevermore, and it flew down at the Marine.

Ren reacted quickly, and dragged the Marine out of the turret, only for it to be crushed under the Nevermore's weight. Ren used his Semblance on the Marine, and shoved him into the nearby building. It may be able to hide people from some Grimm, but Nevermores have excellent eyesight, and never needed to rely on sensing emotions.

The creature spread it's wings, and led out a screech, as a shell hit it into the side. It stumbled back, and fell down, a hole gaping in its right side. Ren looked at the Tank. The moment of relief wasn't lasting long, as Wraiths hit the wall above him, and concrete fell down.

They fought across the plaza, and destroyed countless Ghosts and Wraiths in the process, as well as big numbers of Infantry and Grimm. Eventually, they arrived at a ramp leading up to another gate, this time already open. Mickey had to abandon his tank thanks to a couple of large roadblocks, and everyone walked up to the ODST that waited in front of the gate.

"Mickey! Over here!"

"Dutch, what are you doing here?"

"What do you think, genius?" Dutch looked at Ren, and sighed. "Another one of them?"

"Another one?" Mickey and Ren asked in unison.

"Just come on in. We still have to secure the rally point." Dutch said, and went through the gate, followed by the two.

Explosions occured in the distance, and drew the attention of Mickey and Ren. "What's going on over there?"

"I think Ren should know." Dutch said.

"Wait, how do you know my nam-" Ren was interrupted, as the voice of his old friend echoed across the boulevard.

"Mudadadadadadadada!" A loud explosion went off, and parts of a Wraith flew through the air, before landing on the street.

"Nora?" Ren asked, and Dutch nodded.

"She's surprisingly strong for a teenager." Dutch noted as they walked up to the position where the Marines dug themselves in. "And she seems to have a habit of sticking stuff into power outlets."

They took out every straggler that escaped Nora, before the girl walked up to them. She stopped as she saw Ren, only to run towards him, and embrace her friend in a hug. A gesture Ren quickly returned.

"Why can't we have such reunions?" Mickey asked Dutch, who stared at him for a second, before taking a step away from him.

Nora let go of Ren, and saluted to Dutch. "I've killed every last Covenant Soldier and Grimm down there."

"Good." Dutch looked back at Mickey. "You heard from Gunny?"

"No. Romeo neither."

"Who?"

"The rest of their team." Nora explained. "You didn't hear from Yang or Blake, right?"

Ren shook his head. "Not since the ship jumped."

"Dammit."

"So, what now?" Dutch asked. "None of us have any idea where our teammates are."

"My vote? Hole up, wait for backup." Mickey said.

"Seriously?" Nora asked.

Suddenly, the gate leading to the ONI Alpha Side slit open, and a Officer of the NMPD came out. "Thank God, does one of you know how to use explosives?"

Nora smiled, and cracked her knuckles. "Oh yes."

"Your vote? Just got overruled." Dutch said to Mickey, and they went inside the tunnel.

"Oh man, we're going to blow up an ONI site." Nora said excited. "Did you know they put chemicals in the water to turn the frogs-?"

"Can you please stop with your conspiracies? You talked about nothing else on the way here." Dutch said. "I just need a minute of peace."

* * *

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Inner City**  
 **October 20; 2552; 22:43**

"So, you live in giant domes up on the moon?" Blake asked as they walked through the streets. The rain was still coming down, and it felt like it got even heavier. And now, there was ash and dust amongst the water, coming back down from explosions and the colliding space elevator. It almost felt like the aftermath of a volcanic eruption, or meteorite impact, when the thrown up dust and ash comes down hours later.

Right now, she was talking with the Rookie, and he told her a bit of where he came from. "Yes. It's better than one would assume." The Rookie stopped, as he saw the mauled body of a Marine. He kneeled down, and took a blinking Datapad from him. A file was open, and the security level was low enough for him to access it.

"What is it?"

"It's an ONI file. It explains the current situation."

"How is it?"

"Not that good. It seems like Mars and Luna are under heavy attack by the Covenant, and... huh. ONI thinks that some really fast Grimm sped away from Africa and came down in remote locations all around the world, only to disappear."

"I guess the UNSC can't track them. They are a completely new threat, after all." Blake muttered. "But why would Grimm do that? I've never heard that Grimm fled from somewhere. Especially a situation like this one."

"Well, it's not like we can find that out right now." The Rookie said, and looked around. Once again, Blake was able to see a little light shimmering through from the inner side of his visor. "We have to go into that direction." He said, and pointed south.

"How do you know this?"

He shrugged. "For some reason there are waypoints appearing on my map. I think that the Superindentend might try to help us."

"That was the AI that runs the City, right?"

"Yes. It should've seen and recorded everything that happened here." The Rookie said. "But I don't know why it's helping us specifically."

While talking, they started to continue with their hike through the City. "Maybe it knows something we don't. Or it has to do with our friends?"

"Possible. Watch out!" The Rookie went into cover, and Blake followed him.

A group of Grunts, assisted by two Hunters, walked over the street next to them, searching for any surviving Humans. The Hunters had dried up blood on their shields, indicating they had a fight before, and it didn't go well for their enemies.

For the entirety of walking past the two, the Grunts complained. At least that's what Blake guessed by the tone of their voices. The relative silence was broken, as shots went off.

Blake took a look, and saw something big engaging the Covenant Troops. It was the one Grimm they saw before, but now Blake was able to see the whole thing. Overall, it looked like a horse with a Rider on top, only that said Rider fused with the Horse. The Rider reminded her of another Grimm, a so called Imp, which was rare, but dangerous.

The Monster had spikes running across the back, and two large horns extended from the Rider's, as well as from the Horse's head. The long arms ended in thin fingers with claws, and plates of bones covered almost the entire Horse, as well as the arms of the Rider. The worst thing was the height though. The Grimm was as big as a Elephant, and towered over the Covies.

The Hunters shot their Cannons at the Grimm, but it extended it's arms while running around them, and picked both Mgalekgolo up. It lifted them high into the air, and single worms fell out of the Aliens. The Hunters struggled, and the Monster threw one of them into a nearby shop, breaking the windows. The other one got angry, but the Grimm used its other hand to stab through the Lekgolo, and rip apart the worms with ease.

The other Hunter stood back up, and roared at the Grimm. Said creature threw away the remains its latest kill, and grabbed the Hunter with both hands, before ripping the Gestalt in two pieces.

The Unggoy started to panic, and ran away, through another big gate. The Grimm ran after them, and the gate closed.

"Now!" The Rookie yelled, and both ran as fast as they could to get away from the Grimm.

They could easily beat normal Grimm, but that one was something else. Just seeing it instantly placed fear, dread and despair into them, and none of their weapons or skills could get through the Monstrosity. They had to avoid it at all cost, and if they ever were to ran into it again, they knew that the only option was to run as fast as possible.

Eventually, they arrived at a balcony, overlooking a big plaza. Remains of Wraiths and Ghosts laid around, and the wreckage of a Gauss turret stood next to the two. And there was something green on the ground. Blake picked it up, and instantly identified the blade. "This is Ren's dagger."

"Another one of your friends?"

"Yes. He came through here. But how did he loose it?"

The Rookie looked down onto the plaza. "There was quite the battle here. It's possible that he lost it without noticing."

"Where's the ONI building anyways?"

The Rookie pointed to a large pillar of smoke rising up in the distance. "Over there."

* * *

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Inner City**  
 **October 20; 2552; 17:42**

Tyrian was still on his stroll through the city, fighting Covenant forces and Grimm along the way. He purposely avoided to fight Humans, as he didn't want to raise any suspicion. His hopes to actually find Ruby were getting smaller and smaller, as nearly the whole City was getting destroyed. Buildings were grumpling, People were dying, and explosions went off everywhere. He had been in a lot of bad situations, but this was entirely different.

For the first time on a mission, he didn't feel like being in control of the situation, like the Harbinger sent by the one Goddess. He felt like another insignificant speck in a giant war, without any clarity if he'd actually please his Goddess.

He went out of a shop he broke into, only to see two Tanks rolling by, assisted by dozens of Soldiers. Not only was he unwilling to raise attention, even he knew that was a bit much for him. Especially the Tanks.

Thus, he backed away slowly, and noticed something on the ground, next to a dead Marine. It looked like a Communication device, and he picked it up. There was no incoming transmission, but there were a couple of them stored for later reviewing. He opened up the newest file. It was disrupted by a lot of static, and he was already about to close it, as a perculiar name came through the distortion.

 _Yang Xiao Long._

He started laughing. Finally, he had a clue. It wasn't Ruby, but there was no doubt that she was with her Sister.

* * *

 **And Chapter 19 is up.**

 **I know this ones a bit shorter, but it was hard to find something in the Scorpion mission to make interesting and different from the game.**

 **Now to replies:**

 **rocketmce: Yes, one of them will accompany Arby.**

 **jarediscool: Thanks.**

 **Cmedina1: Of course, the two gods are real in Remnant. The question is: How much did Ozpin tell Qrow, or how much did Qrow tell RNJR? Is what we know right now all there is to it?**

 **minecraft93: Well, it's not a portal from Remnant to Earth. It's only working in one direction, and the facility on Remnant just uses the Infinity Energy generators the Forerunners used. How and What exactly is up wiht all of that will be explained later.**

 **Tronmaster5704: It always can go more terrifying.**

 **Edrap: The dragon wouldn't neccessarily be terrifying, but more of an epic battle.**

 **kangjak56: Of course the Arbiter will play a role, from the end of Halo 2 on.**

 **A fan: Yep, Forerunners built big. Just look at Trevelyan. I think they might compensate for something.**

 **Sarge: Uhm, who are you talking about? RWBY and JNPR, or Alpha-Nine?**

 **ERROR SANS: Yeah, you deserve credit for that. Well, this is supposed to be a bit more serious (Sometimes), But I can assure you, the third and fourth player characters of Halo 3, N'tho 'Sraom and Usze 'Taham, will be part of the Halo 3 arc, since they were with Arby and the Chief canonically.  
As for your second review, I had a hard time understanding it thanks to the wall of text and lack of punctuation. Sacred Icon will not be from Thel's perspective, since that wouldn't be any different from a simple write down of the mission. Instead, it will be about the Human forces fighting their way to the Index. As for the OC, no. This is a bit out there, at least from what I understood.  
**

 **Snake: This is not supposed to be a Harem story.**

 **red october700: Honestly, that fight came to me when playing Far Cry 4. I just had to include something like that.  
I'm still not entirely sure about HW2 yet, since it depends how H5G will work out. I don't know what I'll do with Cortana, thanks to certain planned events between H3 and 4, and during 4. **

**squeegywing: Thanks.**

 ** **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.****


	20. Security Zone

Chapter 20: Security Zone

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; ONI Alpha Site**  
 **October 20; 2552; 18:10**

"Dammit! Fall back!" One of the Police officers said, as two Wraiths drove into view.

Currently, Mickey, Dutch, Ren and Nora were defending the ONI Alpha Site. Ironically enough, considering that they're supposed to blow it up. But for that to work, they first had to deny access to the Covenant. The enemy forces first appeared two minutes ago, while Nora, Dutch and Mickey were still preparing M165 Demolition Charges to destroy the bridge that led to the facility.

Luckily, the bridge was fairly long, and abandonded cars were scattered n it, so there was enough cover and space to fend off the Covenant forces. But not enough. Phantoms were constantly dropping off Jiralhanae, Unggoy, and Kig-Yar, while the Wraiths were bombarding the position on the other end of the bridge, consisting of roadblocks and a sniper tower.

And as if that wasn't enough, Banshees were flying above their heads, and fought against a couple of Griffons and Nevermores.

Nora took cover behind a burned out car, before shooting a Grunt with her BR. "Man, those guys really want to get in there."

"No shit." Dutch replied, and took down another Grunt, before looking at Mickey. "Hurry up!" Magnesium Spikes flew over their heads, barely missing them before they dug into the roadblocks.

"Hey, you wanna do this? Be my guest. But this ain't..." He pressed a button, and turned the handle, aiming the charge. "a job you wanna rush."

"Did that do it?" Dutch asked over the comms. Suddenly, a particularly fast Jiralhanae came around the car Nora was hiding behind, but she slammed Magnhild into his chest, sending the already dead Brute flying off the bridge.

 _"Yes, the charges are armed. Prepare the rest and come here."_ Ren replied. He was sitting in the tower, observing the controls of the charges. He didn't know much about explosives, so observing the process was a better-suited job for him.

"Come on, we gotta blow this bridge." Mickey said, and ran off to the next charge, which he armed. Another Wraith hit the bridge, burning a big hole and sending rubble flying, as well as molten metal.

"What about those Wraiths?" Dutch asked.

"Forget them!" Nora replied. "Last time I checked, they can't fly. Well, I mean, technically they do, but ya know what I mean." Behind them, the Brutes started closing in, thus they hurried as much as possible.

Nora and Dutch provided cover for Mickey to arm the charges and took down multiple Unggoy, Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar. "That's the last one! Everyone, behind those barriers, the bridge is set to blow!" Mickey yelled, and they started to run to their position.

Up on the tower, Ren and one of the officers had a hard time themselves. The Superintendent didn't want to unlock the keypad, making it impossible to blow the bridge. "Come on, Super, unlock the keypad!" The Officer pleaded.

"KEEP IT CLEAN! RESPECT PUBLIC PROPERTY!"

"If you don't let us trigger those charges, in about five minutes, your data center's going to be crawling with Covenant!"

"Please, it really is important." Ren said calmly. The AI gave off a chime, and the keypad unlocked. Ren quickly typed the codes in, with the help of the officer.

"BRIDGE TOLL ACCEPTED. HAVE A PLEASANT TRIP." The Superintendent said, and multiple fireballs engulfed the bridge, sending rubble and burned parts of Covenant soldiers flying through the air. Cars, Infantry and Stone fell into the water below, never to be seen again. As the smoke and dust settled, it was clear that it worked. The only thing left of the bridge were some lone stones sticking out of the water. Even the Wraiths stopped shooting, as if they were surprised and shocked by what happened.

"Hell yeah! Suck it, Covenant!" Nora yelled.

Above them, a Phantom passed, directly into the courtyard in front of the ONI building. "C'Mon, the Cops aren't gonna last long against them!" Mickey said, and they ran through a small tunnel, only to come out in the courtyard.

The courtyard consisted of a sloped park, leading up to the ONI facility, which looked like a giant, black cube. The grass was interrupted by two flat patches of stone, connected by stairs. balconies hung up the hill, a lot of which equipped with Machine Guns and Turrets. The Officers and Marines had put up big roadblocks to keep the Covenant out.

A small Covenant platoon, consisting of Unggoy, a couple of Brutes and two Hunters, fought off Human forces at the base of the hill. Nora instantly grabbed Magnhild, and led it down on one of the Grunts, burying him.

One of the Jiralhanae retaliated and delivered a punch to Nora. The force caused her to fall off her feet, and land on her back. The Brute prepared to shoot her but was hit by a number of bullets. Ren jumped at him, and cut the Brute with the blades of Stormflower, while Mickey and Dutch took out the Grunts.

Now, even the Mgalekgolo got a bit angry. They turned around, and shot their beams at the two Huntsmen, burning stone and grass in the process. Ren managed to avoid the beam, and Nora jumped over it. "Nora! I'm gonna distract them. Try to shoot their back." Ren said.

"You got it!"

With that, Ren ran around the Hunters, shooting them. One of them finally turned his back to Nora, Mickey and Dutch, and the three concentrated their fire. The Alien fell down, enraging his bond brother.

However, he was soon defeated too, and they started to make their way up the hill, as more Phantoms dropped of Covenant and two Wraiths on the bottom, taking the building under siege.

"Fall back! I repeat, fall back to the top of the ridge!" A female Marine yelled. They ran to the top, and Dutch turned around, aiming his Spartan Laser at one of the Wraiths. It blew up, causing the grass around it to catch on fire.

Even more Phantoms came in, dropping off more and more Covenant troops. And as if that wasn't enough, Griffons and other flying Grimm soon joined the fight, swooping down and attacking both sides.

Slowly but steadily, the Covenant managed to make their way up the hill, even though a lot of them fell. But the Phantoms continued to drop off units. "They don't even have a ship here anymore! Where are they all coming from?" Nora asked.

"Just keep shooting." Mickey replied. "Dutch? Can you do something about that Wraith?"

"My Laser's empty, sorry."

One of the Griffons swooped down, and grabbed one of the officers. It picked him up, and the Cop shot the Grimm with his M90, killing it. The man fell, and landed on the stone with a sickening _crunch_.

"Fire in the hole!" One of the Marines next to Nora said and pulled the pin out of a Grenade. He looked around the cover to throw it, but Magnesium Spikes instantly flew at him, ripping his arm off. His body spun around thanks to the impact, and out of cover. More Spikes hit him and tore his body to shreds.

"No, dammit!" One of the other Marines yelled, and stepped out angry. He shot the Brute down, but was instantly attacked by a Griffon, attracted by his anger. The Monster dug into his body, before it was shot by Mickey.

"We're falling like flies out here!"

"We have to get in there!" Ren said. "That should give us time. We're as good as dead out here."

"All right. Everyone, fall back into the building!" Dutch yelled over the comms, and everyone ran in. Nora and Ren stayed back, making sure everyone got in, before going in themselves.

They were about to close the door, as a wave of Gravity hit Ren, sending him flying backward. Nora was unable to spin around fast enough, and the Chieftain rammed her head into the ground. The stone floor broke, and Nora's head got stuck for a second. The Jiralhanae grabbed her, and flung her against a wall, breaking her Aura. Nora looked at the Brute raising his hammer, and prepared for the end, as...

Five swords stabbed through his body. Purple blood gushed out of the wounds, and the Brute collapsed, revealing Penny behind him. "Salutations!" She greeted, as happy a ever.

"P-Penny? What are you-"

Penny went in to help Nora up. "ONI called me here before all of this started, remember?"

"Oh, right. Is Ren okay?"

"I already checked him. He's fine." Penny replied. "You should stay back for a couple of minutes. Let your Aura recover..."

"I can't. Not as long as the Covenant is coming in."

Penny sighed. "Okay, but don't overdo it." She led Nora down into the lobby, where everyone else had taken position in the middle. Glass walls surrounded the three elevator shafts. Four stairs led out, two to the site they came from, and two more to a balcony. As Penny and Nora stepped in, the doors slammed shut, sealing everyone in.

However, there was one thing that confused Nora. The hundreds of Charges that were attached to almost every wall. "What's with all the bombs?" She asked as they arrived in the middle.

"You forgot that we're supposed to blow this thing up?" Mickey asked. "Scorched Earth. Denying the Covenant access to any data."

Suddenly, noises from metal getting cut echoed across the hall, and sparks flew around the shut doors, slowly forming a square. "They're cutting through that door!"

"Everyone, get in position!" Dutch commanded.

The doors flew open, and Grunts came running in, carrying one ignited Plasma Grenade in both hands. Dutch swung the turret around, taking on the Grunts coming in from the left side. Everytime one of them fell, his Grenade exploded, ripping the body into pieces and causing a small fire.

"Did they loose it?" Nora asked, as she shot down one of the Grunts with her BR.

"Did they ever have it?" One of the Marines replied. "This is a common tactic for them. Apparently they are so expendable that they can suicide-bomb the shit outta us."

"How exactly did the Covenant get this far?" Ren asked in a sarcastic tone. One of the Grunts came close, but was killed before it could do any damage.

Then, the Kamikaze attack stopped and was replaced by regular Grunt units alongside Kig-Yar. They rushed down the stairs, shooting wildly at the UNSC forces in the middle. Nora threw a Grenade, and the resulting fireball engulfed two Kig-Yar, who held up their shields to save them from the explosion.

However, the battle was short-lived, as one of the Kig-Yar started shooting into the entrance doors. Then, a black creature jumped onto the Jackal, digging its sharp sickle-claw into the Alien. The screams of the Jackal stopped, as the Grimm bit into its head, and ripped it off with one smooth move.

Then, it looked at the Humans. Black and white feathers on it's body stood up, before it let out a screech.

"Is... Is this thing a dinosaur?" One of the Officers asked.

"It's a Deinon." Ren said. "Fast and clever."

More Deinons came through the entrances, and stared at the humans. It looked like the Grimm massacred the Covenant outside, if the purple, green and red blood on their teeth and claws were anything to go by.

"This is insane! I never signed up to shoot dinosaurs!" The Sergeant yelled.

"Technically, they're Grimm." Mickey replied.

"Yeah. Creatures of darkness don't count as dinosaurs." Nora added.

"You think I signed up to fight magical evil monsters?"

Then, the Grimm started to run. The first one of the pack jumped and attacked one of the Officers. He was instantly dead, as the razor-sharp teeth dug deep into his head, easily breaking through his helmet. Luckily, the Deinons weren't tanks either, and it went down with one short burst of Dutch's SMG.

The other Grimm weren't done yet though, and charged. Bullets soared through the air, cutting into the Grimm. But more and more came through the entrances, and it got harder and harder to hold them at bay.

Then, Nora saw a single Grunt in the corner of her eye, and went after him. The little guy cowered in a corner, hoping that the Grimm wouldn't find him. Nora picked him up, and held the Alien at the throat. "Did you bring them here?"

In the backround, Penny's lasers shot through the air, nearly always hitting their mark, and causing another pained bark to be heard. "What? No! T- The flying things brought them in in their talons."

Nora scoffed. At least the Covenant wasn't behind this. But that the Grimm carried each other into battle was scary enough. She threw the Grunt away, down the next Elevator shaft, before slamming Magnhild into the next Deinons.

One of the Grimm passed her, and ripped the Sergeant apart. Slow but steady, more and more of the Grimm broke through the defenses, and the UNSC forces got smaller and smaller, while red blood and body parts started to cover the floor.

"When is that damn elevator coming?" Dutch asked angry, as he took down one of the Deinons with the turret. The hail of bullets tore the Grimm up.

One of the Deinons jumped past Dutch, and onto Mickey. Both got into a little scuffle, and Mickey managed to stab his combat knife into the side of the Grimm's head. It screeched, and fell down, before evaporating.

Then, the Elevator finally arrived, with a satisfying _bing_. "Everyone on the Elevator, I put enough charges in this shaft to..." The officer inside stopped as he saw the ongoing massacre. "What the fuck?"

"Don't ask, just get this damn thing up!" Dutch said as he, Mickey, Ren, Nora and Penny entered the Elevator.

"Okay, calm down." The Officer quickly typed something on the control panel, and the glass doors closed. But not before one of the Deinons jumped in, shattering the class.

Ren quickly used Stormflower to cut into the Grimm, and a few fast swings later, it tumbled down the shaft.

"What the hell happened down there?" The Officer asked.

"Would you believe me when I said that Dinosaurs made out of darkness tore us up?" Mickey asked.

"I would ask what you were smoking, and if I could have some too."

"Anyway, to more important matters..." Dutch muttered.

"Right. Transfer the detonation codes to my COM. If anyone's takin' this place out, it's gonna be me." Mickey added.

"Oh man. I wanted to blow it up." Nora said.

"What if we do it together?" Mickey asked. "A good explosion is always something you should yearn for."

"It might be rude of me to interrupt," Penny said. "But how are we going to escape the explosion?"

"A Pelican will pick us up on the roof." The officer explained. The Elevator came to a hold, and they saw the roof. Burning wrecks of Phantoms laid around, as well as mutilated bodies of Brutes, Unggoy and Kig-Yar. A couple of Griffons were circling around, and were probably the reason for all the dead Covenant troops.

And then there was the Pelican, hovering at the edge of the landing pad. Two Police Officers were keeping the Griffons at bay with Covenant weapons they picked up, while the Cop that manned the turret inside the Pelican provided cover fire.

The six started to sprint towards the Pelican, only for a Griffon to start chasing them. Penny turned around and stabbed one of her swords into the Griffon. She used the string it was attached to, to throw herself into the air, and form a ring of swords around her. She came back down and started circling the swords around, cutting the Grimm in two.

With the monster taken care of, they jumped into the Pelican, which quickly departed from the scene, through the remaining Griffons above the Alpha Site. They were able to see the Deinons tearing up remaining Covenant troops in front of the building. "Damn. Those monsters are worse than I thought." Dutch said.

"Hey, you fellas know a Gunnery Sergeant Buck?" One of the Officers asked. The turret roared, and a Griffon fell to the ground, evaporating.

"Sure do!" Mickey replied.

"Patching him through."

 _"Glad you boys are safe and sound."_ Buck's voice came through the comms.

"Likewise. Gunny, do you need a pickup?"

 _"Hell yeah we do!"_ A female voice echoed through the comms. Nora, Ren and Penny instantly recognized it.

"Yang!"

They could hear rustling in the backround, as Yang became clearer. _"Nora? Ren? Penny? Glad you're alive. It's a shitshow out here."_

"Yeah." Nora replied. "Grimm are everywhere, the Covenant is tearing up the city, and the Elevator is gone."

 _"You didn't see Blake, did you?"_

"No. I guess she's still in the city." Ren said.

There was a small pause, as Yang thought about Ren's words. _"Okay, then we'll meet up and figure out a plan."_ Yang said. _"I'm gonna patch Bucky back through."_

 _"I told you not to call me that..."_ Buck said. _"We're in the Police HQ."_

"Can you take us there?" Dutch asked the Pilot.

"Affirmative."

 _"Alright, meet you up top."_ Buck replied, and cut the connection.

Suddenly, Mickey nudged Dutch. "What?"

"Wanna see the firework?" He asked, and held out a remote. "Ready?"

"Never been readier." Nora replied, and both pressed the button at the same time.

And as soon as they did, the ONI Alpha Site disappeared in a bright flash, and a shockwave hit the Pelican a second later. Charred Grimm flew everywhere, and waves appeared in the water surrounding the Site. Nothing remained of ONI's base of operations in Eastafrica.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Nora yelled.

"Yep. Day ain't turning out that bad afterall."

"When you don't count the countless man that died down there, then yes, this is a great day!" Penny replied happily, and everyone stared at her, asking themselves if she was sarcastic, or just worded it badly.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Inner City**  
 **October 20; 2552; 23:02**

"Down!" Blake yelled as Magnesium Spikes flew over their heads, and they dove behind a small wall to take cover. It really didn't go as planned.

Instead of simply walking in here, and going straight to the ONI Alpha Site, they just had to run into a Covenant Patrol. And a big one at that. It didn't take long for the Covies to spot them, and they instantly opened fire.

The Rookie took a lucky shot, but didn't hit any of their enemies. A blue light flew over them, and landed on the street, before exploding in a bright ball of blue plasma.

"Any ideas?" The Rookie asked.

It was a bad situation, so much was clear. Even with Blake, the Covenant had more soldiers right now, and the better weapons. While Bullets and Dust simply didn't do damage as long as one's Aura was up, the heat of the Plasma was able to go through, and could still cause some bad wounds. Additionally, Blake was sure that a Super combination of a Needler could rip her apart, even with her Aura full. And then there was the little problem that neither Blake nor J.D. had unlimited ammo, and used a good amount of their stock on the way here.

Blake's eyes quickly darted around, searching for anything that might prove useful. There were catwalks above them, but going there would expose them to the Covenant. Then there were the cars standing around on the streets. They all were burned-out wrecks, not useful at all.

More shots hit the wall they hid behind, and Blake realized that there wasn't much time. The wall consisted of simple Polycrete, a fairly common building material, and could give up any moment.

One particularly brave Grunt came around the corner, aiming his Plasma Pistol at them. Blake instantly shot him down and used the ribbon of her weapon to drag the Covenant Weapon toward them. At least they had a couple more shots.

Still, she already made her prayers, and said goodbye to everyone she had ever known. Her parents, her friends, Ilia, hell, even Adam. But then it happened. One of the Roadblockdoors broke down, as a big Grimm busted through.

It walked on two muscular legs, and had a long body. On one side, it ended in a muscular tail, while the front featured a big head with sharp teeth. Two arms ended in three claws, and it led out a deafening roar.

"Is that a Tyrannosaurus Grimm?" The Rookie asked.

"Technically, it's a Lythronix," Blake replied. "A bigger, meaner form of a smaller Grimm-type called Deinon. Most often, Lythronix can be found as their packleaders."

"Does it have noodle arms too?"

"No, but it has some other abilities. First and foremost, it has thick scales, which means it can be hard to puncture. Then, it is quick and agile, making it hard to hit or dodge. And then there's its bite. Strong enough to crush a car without much effort." Blake took another look at the Lythronix, trying to guess its age. Judging by the size, which was roughly thirteen meters, and the head, which was covered by a white mask that resembled a Tyrannosaurus-skull, it was roughly fifty years of age.

While most of the smaller Grimm never got old, either due to being weak or attacking wild animals out of recklesness, some, like the Lythronix, was born big. Still, the Lythronix was what could be considered an endangered Grimm. And a powerful one at that. Every Huntsmen dreamed of slaying such a beast, and some, if one would trust the tales of Peter Port, slaid multiple at once, using only their bare hands, teeth and a broken crown.

It was surely a proud thing to take out such a beast. But she wanted to wait. After all, it was concentrating on the Covenant right now, either swallowing them whole or just crushing them under its feet.

Thus, they quietly waited, until the Covenant was taken care of. And then it began. Blake used her ribbon to grabble onto one of the catwalks, and look at the Lythronix, which was currently feasting on the remains of the Covenant soldiers.

"Hey, try to take on one of your own size!"

It looked up, staring at her. Its nostrils led out air, and it roared, revealing its blood-stained mouth, which led Blake to wonder how many Humans that thing already killed.

The Dinosaur stomped toward her, and she jumped as the monster crashed through the catwalk. She swiftly landed on it back, while the Rookie watched the ordeal. "Can I help?"

"Get its attention!" Blake yelled.

"Are you fucking serious?" He replied, but it was too late. The Grimm already saw him. "Oh, son of a-."

He started to run, followed by the Grimm. Meanwhile, Blake started to make her way towards the creatures head. It didn't have many weak points. One was at the tail, but a wound there would hardly be lethal. Then there was the foot, but it had the same problem. Of course, there was also the inner part of the mouth, perfect for planting an explosive. But the easiest way to kill it was the neck. The creature had to move its head around, which in turn meant that the protective scales and bone plates were a lot less robust and thick there.

As she arrived at her destination, she noticed that she should've communicated her plan better with her ally. He ran past under another catwalk, which meant that the Dinosaur crashed through, throwing her off as polycrete, metal and concrete hit her plain in the face. She landed on her back, and looked at the Grimm. It turned around, looking at her. "H- Hi."

It roared, and now turned at her. She quickly jumped up, and started running. She couldn't stab her Gambol Shroud into the side of the creature, meaning that it wasn't possible to throw herself up again.

"Blake!" The Rookie, who had hid inside a dumpster, yelled out.

"What is it?"

His head and upper body came out of the dumpster, reminding Blake of a Meerkat that looked out of its nest. "I've got an idea. Lure it towards the big doors." He pointed at the doors at the top of a ramp. The ones that they would've easily crossed if not for the Covenant, and the ones that cut them off from the ONI Alpha Site.

He jumped out, and ran towards them too, quicker than Blake, who always had to dodge the bites of her follower. J.D. accessed a panel at the doors, and a few buttons later, a smaller door opened. It was meant for civilians, while the big doors were reserved for vehicles. He ran through, quickly followed by Blake.

The door closed, and the Lythronix ran against the gate, shaking it. It was pretty clear that it wouldn't hold long. "Are we just gonna hold out in here?" Blake asked.

"No, I have a plan." The Rookie pointed at Gambol Shroud. "You can stab that into its foot, right?"

"Oh, I know what you mean."

The door shook again, as the Grimm rammed against it once again. Cracks appeared in it, meaning that it was just about to break. "Get ready."

A second later, one that felt like an eternity, the Lythronix broke through the door, running into the tunnel. Blake quickly stabbed Gambol Shroud into its leg, and started to run around it.

"Hey, fatass!" The Rookie yelled, while shooting the Grimm with his SMG. It worked, and he got the Monster's attention.

Blake ran circles around the Monster until the entirety of the ribbon was wrapped around its legs. "Now!"

The Rookie started to run down the tunnel, and the Lythronix tried to follow him. But thanks to the trap Blake set, it tripped, falling down with a loud _thump._ Blake used the chance and ran over his tail, making her way to the neck. At the shoulders, she jumped as high as possible and held Gambol Shroud under her. It may be a weak point, but one still needed a good amount of force to actually deliver a fatal blow.

She used a shadow clone as stepping stool to jump once again, and continued that until she reached the ceiling, where she pushed herself off with all her might. The Faunus stabbed Gambol Shroud into the monster's neck with all the energy she could muster, the Lythronix led out a deafening roar, before its head fell down, and the monster started evaporating.

"So... we just killed dinosaur." The Rookie deadpanned. "I think if this is over, then I'll take a looong vacation."

"Honestly, I'll do the same." Blake replied, and sheathed Gambol Shroud.

They stepped out at the other side of the tunnel, passing abandoned cars along the way, and saw the remains of the ONI Alpha Site. It was nothing more than mountain of rubble, with smoke coming out. Embers still glimmed inside the debris, and the bridge leading to the facility didn't look much better.

Covenant Phantoms were circling above it, searching the Site with their searchlights. "What the hell happened here?"

The Rookie picked up the remains of an explosive Charge. "It seems like they fulfilled their mission."

"Great. And now?"

The Rookie sat down in front of the water with crossed legs, and stared at the Site. "They probably escaped with a Pelican. So they had to land somewhere safe."

"And where would that be?" Blake asked. "The whole city is a Warzone."

"CRIME DOESN'T PAY!" The robotic voice echoed above their heads.

"Was that the AI?" Blake asked.

"I think it just gave us a hint."

"Sounded more like an automatic message to me." Blake replied.

"Well, he _is_ a dumb AI. He probably can only talk that way. But I think his little message gave us a good hint. Which group takes care of criminals?"

"The Police... You mean they went to the Police Station? Would that be secure?"

"From what I've heard, the NMPD is one of the biggest and best defended Skyscrapers of the city. It's a good place to land."

"You know where we need to go?" Blake asked with a smile.

He cocked his gun. "Of course I do."

* * *

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Inner City**  
 **October 20; 2552; 18:12**

Tyrian was close. Very close. He managed to pin down the location of Yang Xiao Long, the big sister of his target. From what he'd seen in the millisecond he got a glimpse of her, she was in the company with three men, who were all armed. But if they were the same as the ones he fought before, then they should go down without much of a problem.

However, he wasn't able to get the full picture of the group, as he only saw them for a moment, as they entered one of the gigantic Skyscrapers. The sign read: "New Mombasa Police Department. Serve and Protect. Utumizi Na Kuhifathi."

The Police, huh. It was actually a logical point to go to in this situation. They had communication equipment, as well as ammunition and weapons.

Tyrian was about to enter, as he heard the already familiar sound of a drop ship. It landed across the street, dropping of Jiralhanae and other, bird-like Aliens. It looked like Yang, and Ruby, had to wait another second.

* * *

 **And here's Chapter 20.**

 **The next Chapter might be released a bit later than usual, since X-COM: War of the Chosen comes out tommorrow, and it'll probably take a lot of my freetime. Just a little heads-up.**

 **Also, I think it's a good idea to name the inspirations for the Grimm in the Chapter:  
Deinon = Deinonychus  
Lythronix = Lythronax Argestes  
**

 **Now to replies:**

 **Tronmaster5704: Don't worry, he'll meet his demise at one point, though a lot of people might not expect who'll kill him.**

 **: That would be a possibility. But the thing is that Ren was one of the two main characters in the tank section, and he really doesn't talk much, especially during battle.**

 **Edrap: I don't think she'll lose her right arm in the story. (That doesn't mean they'll all get out without any injuries.) But when I planned the roguh outline, I actually thought about her getting a robotic arm, and make it a running gag that she loses it in every major battle.**

 **Sunshine'sArmageddon: I'm also curious how many people got that Cameo.**

 **ColonelStriker: Thanks. I actually had to google that speech, and yeah, it kinda fits, even though it could fit more after the war.**

 **ERROR SANS: He can make an appearance, sure. All the special powers was actually the main problem. As for Arby, I never said there'd be no part from his PoV. Just not the entirety of the Chapter. Certain parts (Like the start of the gondola or the end) will be from his view. About more characters, yes, it would be good to have more, but there's a limit. And it's already hard to give everyone enough screen time. The skulls I don't really understand. The Scarab skull would not only be overpowered, it'd not make much sense. And the Bandana Skull only adds unlimited ammo, and since that isn't much of a topic except maybe the Floodparts and New Mombasa Streets, it wouldn't really add much.  
**

 **Sarge: Who exactly was that directed to? If it was directed at me, I try to listen to the fans, but I still have around six OCs to let them make a cameo somewhere, as well as the matter of it making sense in the story.**

 **Snake: Like I said, this isn't supposed to be a Harem. And it wouldn't make sense for anyone except for Pyrrha to fight over Jaune:  
Ruby is probably into weapons and doesn't care about romance;  
Weiss doesn't like Jaune;  
Blake has feelings for Sun;  
Yang doesn't seem like the type to settle down; (And her arc, later on, does not involve anything like romance)  
Nora is Rensexual;  
Penny is, well, Penny.  
Additionaly, Jaune and Pyrrha are actually supposed to get together at the end of H2.**

 ** ** **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.******


	21. Halo's Edge

Chapter 21: Halo's Edge

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; NMPD HQ**  
 **October 20; 2552; 18:56**

Even during a war that would determine the end of humanity, one of the most stable sources of safety was the police. And in times like that, were the Alien Covenant, and the new threat only known only as the Creatures of Grimm, were invading the Megacity, the Police shifted their duties from investigating crime scenes and searching for evil-doers to evacuation.

However, that also meant that the NMPD HQ was empty, except for captured convicts, left alone to be slaughtered by the Covenant. It looked like the Covenant adapted to overrun the Police departments first, seeing as it was a source of weapons and ammo, as well as capable fighters.

And now, a team of four people, consisting of the two ODSTs Edward Buck and Romeo, as well as the Huntress Yang Xiao-Long and the Sniper Bailey, was looking through the empty halls.

Dust and gunpowder were hanging in the air, and dead police officers were scattered around the entire building, while the lights either flickered or were broken.

There were a couple of reasons the group chose this building.

First, it had supplies they needed. Ammo, Weapons, even food (even if it was mostly instant noodles and donuts). Second, their communication died shortly after they found Dare's pod, thanks to the EMP and constant Covenant and Grimm attacks. And they needed a way to contact the others. Considering that a couple of hours ago, the police had sent messages through the radio, there should be more than enough equipment in here. Lastly, the building had multiple landing pads on the roof, perfect for a much-needed extraction.

Yang opened a stuck door by punching the handle, and they stepped inside a circular room. The lights were mostly dead, and the smell of burned flesh hung in the air, courtesy of the officers that were´shot by Plasma Weapons.

"I hate this smell," Buck muttered, scanning the room with his Assault Rifle.

"Trust me, there are much worse smells," Yang said, remembering the horrible stench the Flood gave off. Of course, she couldn't mention them, or ONI would make sure that she disappeared overnight.

Romeo went over to the consoles, which were in the middle of the room, forming a semi-circle. He kneeled down, breaking off a panel. "Some of the parts here are still working. We can use them to repair our comms." He said.

Yang looked around the room and stopped at two doors in the back. "You think the plumbing still works?"

"Do you need to..."

"Drop off the children at the pool? Yup." Yang finished Buck's sentence.

"I can't remember the Covenant ever targeting plumbing systems."

"Okay, I'm back in a minute," Yang said, and left, accidentally going into the wrong bathroom.

"So Gunny, what do you think?" Romeo asked, still working at salvaging parts.

"About what?"

"About our little blond devil there," Romeo grunted as he pulled a chip off some wires.

"Yang? Romeo, she's seventeen."

"Not like that..." The ODST replied. "I mean why she's here, what's her deal, and how she got those powers."

"Oh... yeah... It's a real mystery." Bailey said and started to stare off into the distance. He seriously wasn't a good liar.

"That doesn't matter to me right now. What matters is to get the comms back online, so we can contact Mickey, Dutch, and the Rookie."

"And Dare..." Romeo muttered.

"Yes, and Dare."

"But about the other thing... What do you think about her... physically?" Romeo asked.

"Dude, she's seventeen," Buck replied sternly. "Try something, and you'll regret it."

"What? You're gonna punch me for a bad flirt?" Romeo asked laughing.

"No, I'm sure she'll do that for me."

Romeo scoffed and put a couple of parts on the counter. "Just to remind you, sixteen is legal in eighty percent of the colonies."

The bathroom door opened, and Yang left, throwing her hands around in an attempt to get the water off. "I'm back."

"Were there any dead bodies in there?" Bailey asked.

"A dead Officer with his head in one of the toilets," Yang replied. "Also, is the Superintendent a jokester?"

"Why?"

"Someone asked me if I wanted red or blue toilet paper. I just declined, and then wiped my ass with normal paper."

The three Marines looked at each other and shrugged. "I think it's best to ignore that."

"Did you get anything useful?" Yang asked, and looked at the parts.

"Should be able to repair one of our comms. However, I'm not a programmer, so we can only establish contact with Police forces." Romeo explained. "I hope that'll be enough."

"I'm sure at least one of them has seen our guys," Buck replied. "How long is it going to take?"

"Five minutes top. It's isn't that hard."

"Yang, we'll watch the entrance. Bailey, search for anything useful."

"Affirmative," Bailey replied, and started to search through the room.

Yang cocked her Shotgun, and leaned against one side of the entrance, while Buck took the other one. They started to wait, always on edge if a Covenant platoon would suddenly come in and ruin their day. From time to time, they even heard shots from outside, guessing that those were remaining Police Officers fighting the Aliens.

Although it really hadn't been more than five minutes when Romeo called them over, it felt like an eternity. Yang, Buck, and Bailey gathered around Romeo, who gave Buck his helmet back. "Hello? Can anyone hear me? This is Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck from ODST Team Alpha-Nine. Can anyone hear me?"

They waited for a response and sighed in relief as someone answered. _"Sergeant? This is Mpenda from the NMPD."_

"Officer! Have you seen a group of ODST in the city?"

 _"There are a couple of them running toward us. Wait a sec."_

Thus, they waited once again, until a little sound was heard, indicating that he had been patched through to another channel.

"Glad you boys are safe and sound," Buck said relieved.

 _"Likewise. Gunny, do you need a pickup?"_ A male voice answered. _  
_

"Hell yeah, we do!"

 _"Yang!"_ A mix of voices, two female and one male, echoed through the comms

"Gimme that," Yang said, and took Buck's helmet, only to put it on herself. "Nora? Ren? Penny? Glad you're alive. It's a shitshow out here."

 _"Yeah,"_ Nora replied. _"Grimm are everywhere, the Covenant is tearing up the city, and the Elevator is gone."_

"You didn't see Blake, did you?"

 _"No. I guess she's still in the city."_ Ren said.

Yang sighed and thought about that for a minute. "Okay, then we'll meet up and figure out a plan," She said. "I'm gonna patch Bucky back through."

"I told you not to call me that..." Buck said as he took his helmet back. "We're in the Police HQ."

 _"Can you take us there?"_ Dutch replied, most likely asking their pilot.

 _"Affirmative."_

"Alright, meet you up top," Buck replied, and cut the connection. "Well, looks like we've got at least parts of our teams back together."

"Just to be clear... With 'meet you up top', you mean on the roof, right?" Yang asked.

"No, he means the basement," Bailey replied sarcastically. "Seriously, that was a dumb question."

"Someone's in a bad mood," Yang said. "Can we go then? The Elevators aren't working, and I don't know how much higher we have to go."

"We'll make it. I've faced worse than a couple of stairs." Romeo replied.

With communications somewhat reestablished, the four started to make their way up to the top of the Skyscraper, passing Covenant patrols along the way. There were even some dead Covies, and they guessed that those were most likely killed by angry convicts or lone Grimm that made their way into the building.

They left through a door, which opened with a hiss, and found themselves on one of the landing pads, overlooking the entire Skyline. The sky was a bright red, indicating the time and heat that still went off from the battles in the city.

Yang instantly let her view go over the skyline, searching for any flying Grimm. And it didn't take long to find them, although they didn't look that dangerous. A huge swarm of Nevermore and Griffon had converged upon two areas: The ONI Alpha Site, from where a pillar of smoke rose up into the sky, and the Reserve, for whatever reason.

Other than that, the sky was dominated by Covenant forces, as well as single UNSC Aircrafts. Judging by that, it looked like the Grimm were pushed back, at least in the air. Not that it answered where they came from in the first place.

Meanwhile, the three soldiers looked over the area, searching for any Covenant troops. "Clear?"

"Yeah," Romeo replied, looking for their transport. "We're good."

"Hey, Rookie. You out there? Respond. That's an order!" Buck said over his comm.

"Give it up, Gunny. Even if he ain't dead he's lost in that soup. Our comms can't cut through that."

"I also want to add that we can only use the Police comm channel right now," Bailey added.

"Oh, give it up, huh? What if it were you down there?"

"Just sayin'." Romeo shrugged. "I ain't dead."

"You're a piece of work, Romeo."

The sounds of thrusters echoed through the air, and the four turned to their right, seeing the NMPD Pelican closing in. Something was hanging from its underside, and as it came closer, it became obvious that it was Penny, having herself attached to the ship with two swords.

"What. The. Fuck." Romeo muttered.

"That's Penny," Yang said, as the Pelican slowly came to a halt.

 _"Welcome aboard, ladies! First stop: Anywhere but here."_ Mickey greeted over the comms.

"What's with the girl?" Buck asked over the comms.

 _"Penny wanted to help, and decided to attach herself to the bottom of the Pelican as an extra cannon,"_ Nora explained. _"Works pretty well."_

"I'm not even going to question that," Romeo replied.

"Trust me, it's better if you don't," Bailey added.

The Pelican slowly turned, getting ready to pick them up, but Buck noticed two purple dots coming closer. "Banshees on your six! Hit the deck!"

The two Alien fighters shot Banshee bombs at the Pelican, and hit the top, causing the vehicle to lose height. Penny quickly used her swords to maneuver to the top of the Pelican, and shot down one of the Banshees, although too late. The Pelican had already lost one of the thrusters, meaning it started to spin. "We're going to land on another pad!" Penny said, half over comms and half screaming. The Pelican crashed onto the pad, and bounced off, only to spin away.

In the distance, they were able to see Penny, trying to control the path of the Pelican with the beams of her swords, as the Pelican spun out of view. The four wildly fired their weapons at the remaining Banshees and got a lucky shot. The bullet hit the Banshee's lid, causing it to slide open. The Brute inside panicked, and fell out, shortly followed by the Banshee.

"Mickey! Dutch! Status!" Buck yelled.

His radio came to life, and gunfire could be heard in the background. _"We're okay, Gunny. Penny managed to land the Pelican without it taking much damage. We're on a nearby rooftop, and Covenant are swarming in from the air. Try to get here, and we can take off again when the Covies are taken care of."_

"Fine." Buck closed his comm and turned towards his companions. "We're going to pull them out. Come on, we don't have much time."

"What about all those Covenant we side-stepped on the way up here?" Romeo asked.

"Now we get to kill them," Buck replied, reloading his Sniper Rifle.

"Oh hell yeah," Yang said, punching her fists together.

Thus, they left the landing pad, going to an open area on the rooftop, occupied by Covenant forces, mainly Brutes and Grunts. Several stairs led down to their main position, where the doors to the next area where.

"Okay, pick a target and shoot," Buck said to their two Snipers. Both lined up their sights with a Covenant soldier and pressed the trigger. Shots ripped the silence to shreds, and two Brutes fell as the bullets left a big hole in their head. "That did it! Shoot and scoot!"

"I'm going to take on the turret!" Yang yelled as a Grunt jumped into the Shade on the other side of the area. The girl started to run towards it, dodging the shots as much as possible. The Grunt started panicking as she closed in, and grabbed the side of the turret, only to jump, and kick the Grunt out of the turret, breaking its skull in the process.

Yang took control of the turret, and shot the other Covenant forces, easily turning them all into scorched bodies. "Covenant's clear!"

"Not now. Phantom's landing on the pad!" Buck yelled.

Yang turned her turret around and shot at the dropship. The Grunt inside the ship fired back, And Yang jumped out of the turret, as the plasma melted its frame, causing it to collapse. She landed directly next to the remains of another Grunt and grabbed one of its Plasma Grenades. After pressing the small green button, she threw it onto the connection between landing pad and building.

One thing she noticed earlier was that the pads were only connected to the Skyscraper by the stairs that led down to them. The blue plasma engulfed that connection, weakening its structure. The Jackals and Brutes that landed on the platform panicked as it started to lean in the direction they stood on, and after a second Grenade, it fell into the streets below, together with the Covies. "Once again, Covenant's taken care off."

"Let's push forward. Won't be long until they send reinforcements." Buck said. They went through a small tunnel, before coming out in a courtyard similar to the one they were just in. "Jackals with Carbines up top! Watch yourselves!"

Yang went into cover, letting Romeo and Bailey do the work. She's never really been good with long range fighting. And she already knew how good of a sniper a Jackal was.

After the Kig-Yar were defeated, Yang and Buck killed the remaining troops in the area with deadly efficiency.

"You're good," Yang said to the ODST, as she knocked down a Grunt with the butt of his weapon.

"I'm an ODST. We're the ones directly below the Spartans. There's a reason we get thrown behind enemy lines." Buck replied.

 _"Gunny?"_ Dutch's voice was heard over the comms. _"How much longer do you need? The Covenant's coming in big-time here."_

"Stay put, we'll be there in a couple of minutes," Buck replied.

They entered the building again and found a reception area. Dead Officers laid around, with ammo and weapons scattered on the ground. "Take ammo. Those guys won't need it." Buck said.

Yang grabbed a pack of Shotgun shells, and stored them in a pocket, making a mental note to maybe add some special pockets to her outfit. Honestly, she was a bit surprised that the only thing she needed to change outfit-wise was to wear one of the Marine Jackets, and a comm in her ear. Maybe it was thanks to their unusual origin, or the state of the war, but the UNSC didn't enforce many protocolls upon them.

They left the building through another door on a higher level, finding themselves in yet another courtyard. A couple of Jackals, each equipped with Beam Rifles, looked over the area, the purple lights of their weapons and helmets telling their position. If they weren't so damn good at their job, that little fact would've made their role obsolete.

Romeo and Bailey quickly took down the first Snipers, while Yang and Buck hid behind a crate. "Snipers clear. Advance." Bailey told them.

The started to fight their way down the courtyard, as four Brutes jumped up from the lower levels of the building. "What?" Yang asked in surprise. "They got Jetpacks? Why don't we have Jetpacks?"

"Actually, we do," Romeo said.

"Oh. Nevermind then." Yang prepared for the fight, and cocked her Shotgun, as the first Brute set foot in the courtyard.

One of the Jiralhanae threw a Spike Grenade, and Yang tried to block the resulting storm of needles with her Gauntlets. She then delivered a punch to the first Brute that reached her, knocking it from its feet, as the second one got a hold of her. He grabbed her neck with his pranks and got ready to slice up her body, as a shot rang through the air, turning his head into a blue cloud. In the back, Bailey reloaded his Rifle, while Buck came down the courtyard to help Yang out.

Romeo took down another Brute, while Buck pumped one of them full of lead with his SMG. The last one got back up, only to get his head pummeled in by Yang. "I hate Brutes."

"They seem like a match to you," Buck replied.

"Well, they're strong. But they don't really fight with strategy. Even less than I do."

With the Brutes cleared, they went into the next courtyard, as a transmission came through. _"Gunny, we've moved one of those construction cranes; made a bridge to our location."_

"Affirmative. We're almost there."

"Wait, are we really moving over a construction crane?" Yang asked.

"Oh god," Romeo added.

"We're gonna die." Bailey finished.

"Dou you three ever stop bitching?"

The door to the next courtyard opened, and they couldn't believe what they saw. There was a pile of dead Covenant soldiers, Brutes, Grunts, Jackals. And on top of it was sitting a man, looking at them. "Uhm, what?"

"Identify yourself!" Buck yelled.

"Oh, don't worry. You don't matter to me." The man replied, standing up. "But out of gratitude, I'll answer your question." He bowed down. "I am Tyrian Cowels."

"What are you doing here? Most of the Evacuation ships left hours ago." Romeo added.

"Well, I have watched you four for a while. See, I'm looking for someone."

"And who'd that be?" Bailey replied.

"A certain Ruby Rose." At that, Bailey and Yang froze.

"R- Ruby? What do you want with her?" Yang asked, grabbing her Shotgun.

"Yeah, what do you want with Red?"

"Nothing special. See, she's a thorn in someone's eyes, one I'm more than happy to remove."

"Well, bad for you. She left to kill the Prophet!" Yang yelled.

"Wait, what?" He asked, letting his arms fall down in apparent defeat.

"She left to another star system!"

"A-Are you serious?" Tyrian replied disappointed. "That's... unfortunate. Do you know when she's back?"

"As if I'd tell you."

The man sighed, and two blades extended from both his wrists. "Too bad. But she'll probably give me extra credit if I get rid of more Huntresses."

"He knows what you are?" Bailey asked.

Tyrian dashed forward, trying to deliver a strike to Yang, who managed to block the blades just in time. But the enemy was faster than expected and had something wrapped around Yang's legs, managing to throw her to the ground. As she looked up, she saw a long, brown scorpion tail extending from Tyrian's backside. "You- You are a Faunus?!"

"Ding-Ding! Yang Xiao-Long gets one hundred points."

"What. The. Fuck." Romeo said, for roughly the fourth time today. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Just shoot!" Buck yelled, opening fire on Tyrian.

The Faunus blocked the bullets with his tail, using his Aura to absorb the impacts. He quickly turned around, kicking the gun out of Bucks' hand, as a Sniper shot soared past his temple. Romeo shot three more round, all of which were dodged. Tyrian ran up to the ODST, quickly knocking him to the ground, and preparing to stab him with his tail.

Yang stood up and fired her Shotgun at Tyran. She got his attention long enough that Romeo could stab his combat knife into Tyrian's side. Or at least try. The Aura blocked the attack, and Tyrian slapped the knife out of his hand. "Time to say goodbye!" Tyrian said, readying his tail.

Yang quickly lunged forward, tackling the surprised Tyrian into the side, and knocking him off of Romeo. She helped him up. "Get to the pad. I'm going to hold him off."

As she said that, Yang heard the cocking of a gun, and looked toward Tyrian. Barrels had come out of his wrist weapons, and he looked surprised that they didn't shoot. "Huh?"

"Using Dust? Doesn't work here." Yang said with a cocky grin.

"Well, I'm more a fan of slicing anyways." Tyrian lunged forward again, and Yang tried to hold him off in Close combat. However, he dodged or blocked every strike of hers, and delivered more powerful strikes back at her, as both were caught in what almost looked like a dance. The two continued trading blows, until Tyrian kicked her into the stomach, causing Yang to fall back into a pillar, the sheer force of the impact shattering it.

She opened her now red eyes, and her hair was on fire. Angry, she stormed back into the fight.

Away from the two combatants, Buck, Romeo, and Bailey were passing by the pile of corpses and looked back. "She doesn't stand a chance," Buck said, looking around for a way to help the girl. Even if he was unable to actually make out anything in the dance of life and death both were forced in, it was obvious who of the two was stronger. Finally, his gaze fell upon a Needler sticking out of the pile.

Yang was still struggling to get the upper hand in the fight. Even though her Semblance was at full power, Tyrian still managed to block almost all of her attacks, even if they were powerful enough to cause wind pressure behind him. And it wasn't like the time she fought Neo either. That girl simply tried to wear her down. But Tyrian, he didn't fight with any strategy, just waiting for the right moment to cause her pain. Yang felt her Aura getting weaker, as the fire on her hair started to get shorter. Even if this was her end, then she'd at least enabled her friends to escape.

At least that's what she thought. But suddenly, the dead body of a Kig-Yar flew through the air, landing next to Tyrian. Six Needles stuck out of its body, and then there was a little paper bag wrapped around the arm of the Alien. A paper bag filled with blue balls.

"Yang! Get away from there!" Buck yelled as a pink Needle flew towards the dead Covie.

She jumped, and a second later, the Needle hit, causing all of them to go off, and ignite the Plasma Grenades. The explosion caused the wall to break, and the ceiling above them to shatter and fall down. Tyrian was thrown against the wall and was partially buried by rubble. With her chance to escape, Yang followed the UNSC soldiers to the landing pad, where a couple of steel beams were brought in position as a makeshift bridge to another rooftop.

Four strings held it up, attached to a crane. On the other, lower rooftop, the Pelican was parked, with Officers, Ren, Nora, Penny and two ODSTs fighting of multiple Banshees. Rockets and Plasma soared through the air, battling each other.

"Come on, before the Scorpion gets back up!" Romeo yelled. The four of them jumped onto the bridge, and ran, as two Banshees flew past over their heads, causing the bridge to shake.

They jumped down on the other side, landing on the Rooftop. Yang noticed that her Aura didn't fully catch the fall, and she felt her ankles hurting. They looked up, and saw Tyrian, running towards the landing pad.

"Oh no, you don't!" Romeo yelled and shot the crane with his Sniper Rifle. It was enough to break the connection and cause the beams to fall into the abyss below, cutting Tyrian's way to them.

They saw how the Faunus stared at them, and Yang replied by simply flipping him off. Although the question where he came from burned in her mind, there was something much more important right now. And that important thing started to shoot Plasma at the four, which immediately went up a small ramp, meeting up with the others.

"Yang!" Nora yelled out happy and hugged her.

"Why can't we have such reunions?" Buck asked, and Dutch stared at him.

"You too?"

A rocket soared through the air, turning a Banshee into a burning wreck. Heavy weaponry was scattered across the rooftop, consisting of Lasers, Machine Guns, and Rocket Launchers. Enough to keep the Covenant at bay for some time, although Yang wondered why a Police Ship was even carrying that much heavy equipment, to begin with. Then there was the Pelican in the middle of the rooftop, with two Officers working inside. One side of the rooftop was blocked off by a building, making the rooftop look more like a balcony than anything else.

"What's our situation?" Buck asked.

"Penny managed to land the Pelican soft enough that it only needs some small repairs, and two of the Cops are working on it already," Ren explained. "We only have to clear out the sky."

"Then let's get movin'!" Romeo yelled. "Phantom's inbound."

Behind them, two Phantoms appeared from below, their Plasma turrets opening fire. Yang rolled to the side, and grabbed one of the heavy Machine Guns, trying to hit the turret. A couple of rounds later, it broke, and the Phantom dropped off infantry, before leaving.

It immediately got replaces by Banshees, which targeted the heavy weaponry. Penny used her swords to fight off the Infantry and was enough to keep them at bay with the help of Nora.

Banshee after Banshee came in and often got shot out of the sky by a Spartan Laser or SPNKR before they could do any real damage. Yang quickly went over to the ammo, and grabbed a new chain of ammo, reloading it into her turret. From what she saw, Ren had grabbed a SPNKR, trying to hit the enemy aircraft.

After roughly five minutes, Yang stopped counting how many Banshees she shot down, and didn't even want to know how the streets below looked. One lucky Banshee dodged a rocket with a side-roll, and hit one of the Officers with a Fuel Rod, turning the poor guy into nothing more than a puddle of blood.

Two more Phantoms came around a building, taking the position under fire, and causing Dutch and Mickey, who both manned a anti-air turret, to concentrate on it. Still, they managed to drop off more ground troops, before one of them went up in flames, and exploded in a bright, purple and blue fireball.

The other one fled, but exploded two, not able to withstand the constant barrage of Rockets and Lasers. Yang shot down another Banshee, the burning remains to crash into the building next to them, causing glass shards to rain down.

"Pour it on, boys! We're almost through with this!" Buck yelled, as Penny cut down the last Infantry, and joined the defense up the ramp, using her heavy Beams to fend off Phantoms from coming closer.

But then the one thing none of them expected happened. One of the Banshees went Kamikaze and rammed itself directly into the building next to Penny. The ground broke, and Penny just so managed to jump to not fall onto the floor below. And that distraction was all it took. One last Phantom came in and dropped off some heavy infantry. One Chieftain and two Hunters. At least it looked like the Covenant considered Yang and her friends a serious threat.

The Hunters stormed in, holding their shields in front to not get hit with too many bullets. Ren slid under a Hunter, opening fire on its vulnerable back. The Hunter hammered its shield down, trying to hit Ren. Nora quickly jumped onto it, and stuck a Grenade inside its back, blowing the worm creature up.

A mix of Lasers and Rockets hit the second Mgalekgolo, turning it into a smoking armor. With his two companions dead, the Brute finally rushed into battle. He knocked one of the Officers away with his hammer, and led it down on the ground in front of the others, releasing an energy wave, and throwing them back.

Ren managed to jump back up and started to slice at the Jiralhanae. But its shield protected the Alien, and it simply slapped Ren out of the way. Nora tried to catch her friend, falling on her back in the process. Romeo fired at the Chieftain, draining its shield, a chance which Buck used to shoot a hail of Bullets at the monster.

Most of the shots bounced of its heavy armor, as the Brute prepared to bring its hammer down at the next person: Romeo. Yang quickly kicked the Hammer away, which cost the Brute his balance. He tried to regain it, but Yang tackled him to the Ground, where Mickey, Buck, and Dutch unloaded an entire magazine of their SMGs into its head, killing the Jiralhanae.

"Was that it?" Yang asked.

"Looks like the Covenant has given up for now," Romeo said. "Let's get the hell outta here before they come back."

"Is the Pelican ready?"

"We're ready to go!" The pilot replied.

Everyone ran into the hangar bay, and the Pelican started, leaving the heavy ordinance behind. The Pelican lifted itself into the air, slightly tilted to the right, and flew away from the battlefield.

"That was a rough day," Ren said. "And we still haven't found Blake."

"Or the Rookie," Mickey added.

"And Buck's probably still after his big love." Yang finished, receiving angry glares from the ODST. "Hey, just saying how it is."

"Anyways," Bailey said, trying to shift away from the awkward topic. "How's the status?"

"Covenant's occupying the city, Grimm have gathered over the Reserve and ONI Alpha Site, with small packs roaming the streets."

"Why are they converging there?" Yang asked.

Mickey shrugged. "The UNSC says that the Grimm are coming from the Reserve. They don't know how, but that's where all of them come from. They don't even care about investigating, and want to send in a Broadsword to bomb the area later."

"Still doesn't explain their interest in the ONI Site," Buck said.

"Do I look like the boss of ONI? I have no clue what those things want there. Only thing I know is what I told you, and that the Grimm are being fought back."

"At least something." Yang sighed.

"Uhm, you might want to hold onto your seats." The Pilot said.

"What? Why?"

"Covenant Banshees incoming." In the next second, the Pelican shook, and they felt the force of the Vehicle plummeting down into the abyss. A second later, everything went black.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Inner City**  
 **October 20; 2552; 23:34**

The Rookie and Blake were walking around the dark streets of New Mombasa, searching for the NMPD HQ. The Superintendent had projected a waypoint onto J.D.'s VISR system, and they were directly going towards it, trying to dodge Covenant patrols and small packs of Grimm along the way.

"Blake?" The Rookie began.

"Yes? Saw something?"

"You could say so. Tell me the truth. Where are you from?"

Blake stopped as the Rookie said that. "What do you mean?"

"Well, every time we hear something, your bow twitched. You've got a pair of ears under there, don't you?"

Blake sighed. That guy was really perceptive. "It's complicated."

"ONI wouldn't want you to tell me, right?"

Blake shrugged. "Pretty much. They're making a big secret out of it."

They quickly rolled behind a couple of trashcans, as a patrol of Brutes passed by. After they disappeared behind a building, the two got back out of their hiding spot. "That's normal for ONI."

"I mean, they are a secret service thingy," Blake replied as they entered a big plaza. The NMPDHQ was visible in the distance.

"Damn it."

"What is it?"

"The road to the HQ is blocked." He pointed at rubble and debris of a destroyed building in the distance.

Both approached the rubble and looked through. Blake saw something glowing in the rubble and pulled it out. It turned out to be a couple of dog tags, hanging from a chain. She looked at the engraved name. "Edward Buck..."

When she said that, the head of the Rookie immediately turned towards her. "Say what?"

She gave him the tags. "Here. Found it amongst the rubble."

"That's the leader of my squad."

"Wait, did they die here?"

The Rookie looked over to a bit of smoking debris at the edge of the destroyed building. It looked out of place, as it had an ocker color. At closer inspection, it turned out to be the remains of a crashed Pelican. The hole in the building next the them suggested that the Pelican crashed into it, causing all the rubble. "No, I think their Pelican crashed." They approached the crashed Dropship and started to look through the rubble.

Blake pushed a seat to the side and stepped back at what she saw. It looked like a Police Officer got crushed under it. But there was also something next to the seat, sticking out of the rubble. She pulled it out and looked at it. It was a sword, belonging to a peculiar robot. A cut string was attached to it.

"I think I've found something."

"Is that a sword?"

Blake took some looks around, as the Rookie was in thought. "I think our friends crashed here and got killed by the Coven-"

"Not, that's wrong!" Blake replied. "Look." She pointed at a couple of dead Covenant forces in the distance, which had all different kinds of fatal wounds. From deep cuts, up to holes. "They made it out. Those wounds are definitely from my friends."

"Where do we need to go then?"

"Let's follow the dead Covenant soldiers."

* * *

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Rooftop next to the NMPD HQ**  
 **October 20; 2552; 19:43  
**

The door opened with a _hiss_ , as Tyrian finally managed to get through the lock. As he stepped outside, the only thing he saw was a Pelican leaving. "Dammit!" He angrily stomped onto the ground and looked around.

Now his only lead to Ruby was gone. And considering the information he just got, it was practically impossible for him to find her now. She wasn't just one another continent, now, she was in another solar system. "Dammit!"

He approached the dead body of a police officer and picked up the pad that laid next to it. He was still logged in, and Tyrian used that chance to maybe find any useful info. The first thing he found was a live-feed on the battle, called the 'Battle of Earth'. At least he was now sure which planet he was on. He started to read through it. It sounded like the human and Covenant forces managed to push back the Grimm for the most part, and the rest of the creatures had gathered above the Uplift Reserve, and the ruins of the ONI Alpha Site.

However, it also mentioned that black pools had been spotted in the reserve. Of course, those were made by a special type of Grimm, and birthed new Grimm constantly, like the pools around the home of the goddess. It was already clear that those pools wouldn't stay there, as bombardments of the area were already ordered.

But then there was something more interesting, and important. Multiple Covenant ships were spotted, en route towards New Mombasa. As Tyrian read the term 'glassing', he looked the term up.

At that moment, he realized it was time to leave. Ruby could wait, considering that those ships were about to burn down the entire city into glass and obsidian. And even if they didn't, the pure amount of forces they'd bring was too much to deal with, even for him.

As he looked for any route out of town, he saw that there was an evacuation zones, the last one in the city, close-by. It was fifteen minutes until the last ship took off.

Thus, he put the pad in his coat, and ran toward the evac zone, in the hope to make it out alive.

* * *

 **And here's Chapter 21.  
**

 **Well, that was the frst fight against Tyrian, and the first fight between two 'human' opponents I've ever written, do I hope it came out okay.  
**

 **Now to replies:**

 **Tronmaster5704: I can assure you, it will be painful.**

 **rocketmce: Yes, Jun will make an appearance, most likely between H3 and 4. I'm not planning on changing Johnson's death.**

 **Gundam-Knight-Chris: Can you please be a bit more precise? What exactly is becoming boring to you?**

 **joshuaobryan549: The Grimm aren't multiplying. If you remember, Salem sent thousands of Grimm through at once. Also, remember the Grimm in the Reserve, the one that created a pool of black goo?**

 **Edrap: Good luck with your tests. Yeah, the dragon during that battle would be cool, and I'll think about it.**

 **SpartanLogan: Thanks for the Feedback on the different factions. I was actually worried that the 'power levels' weren't working that well, and I'm actively trying to do something about it. However, I have to mention that the main reason of the Grimm's strength in New Mombasa is that they have the surprise advantage, and the Covenant is generally bad at changing tactics, especially Brutes. The switching out Covenant Forces for Grimm won't happen that often anymore either.**

 **AmethyPone: Actually, I don't think that Nora actually ever used a Grenade in this story, though I could've forgotten that little detail. I'm sure the Grenades are just Anime-Logic in the series or has something to do with her weapon and Dust.  
No, it doesn't slow aging considerably.  
I guess that's just not possible, seeing as even Forerunner AI deteriorate. Maybe the Precursors figured something out, but the only AI form them that is known was Abbadon, and even that thing seemed a bit crazy.  
Thanks for telling me that. I've actually heard that phrase multiple times before, so I had no idea it doesn't actually exist.**

 **Shockwave: ...What?**

 **Snake: Can I be honest? I'm getting the feeling that you, ERROR SANS, Springtrap, SCP-682999, and PurpleGuy are the same person, seeing as all are talking about the same thing all the time. Thus, I'll be answering everything here:  
Yes, it may have made its way in when it was before the idea for the fic even came by, but it would've been an entirely different fic too.  
Just because it is a fanfiction site doesn't mean I have to put in everything, especially if it doesn't make any sense and would ultimately lower the quality.**

 **Colonel Radec: That's also something that doesn't make any sense.**

 **red october700: Seeing the Deinon as Riptor is something I didn't even think about. I pictured them somewhat like real Deinonychus. But that's the great thing about written stories. Things like appearance are often open to interpretation.**

 **Dick: Yes, since it's also how it works in the Halo Timeline.**

 ** **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.****


	22. Phantom's Pain

Chapter 22: Phantom's Pain

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Kikowani Station**  
 **October 20; 2552; 21:01  
**

It's over. That was pretty much the state of the battle in New Mombasa shortly after 9 pm. The Covenant had managed to push back UNSC forces and the Creatures of Grimm, as well as sending troops to other parts of Earth, mainly the positions of the other Space Elevators, which stood in. The only objective for anyone in the city was to get out before the real end of the battle started. And that would come as soon as the rest of the Covenant comes, breaks through the First Fleet, and start finishing the job they had been at for thirty years.

And somewhere in this mess was a group consisting of three huntsmen in training, four ODSTs, one Marine and a robot. After their Pelican crashed, thanks to the efforts of two pissed off Banshees, they fought their way through the city to an abandoned station but lost all of the Police Officers along the way. While they had means to defend against the Covenant Forces, the Cops had neither the Equipment nor the training.

Yang and Nora made sure the door was clear, and everyone walked up to it. "So, what now?" Ren asked.

"Trains ran underground up to the old city, we're gonna find one of the tunnels, walk outta here."

"Wait, what's with Blake?"

"The same with Rookie," Buck replied. "Once we're out of here, we'll send in a troop to recover them. If Blake is as tough as you are, then the UNSC will definitely send someone in."

"Fuck. That. I'm gonna go find Blake."

Yang was about to walk off but was stopped by Penny, who grabbed her arm. "Yang? I feel the same way as you. But we have no means of aerial transport, are running low on supplies, and the Covenant is fortifying the city more and more. For now, we have to leave."

"We can still find her. We just have to look."

"New Mombasa is gigantic, Yang. It isn't called a Megacity for no reason. The UNSC has better chances of finding her then we do." Mickey replied.

"Also, she had a black color scheme. Not exactly easy to see in the dark." Bailey added.

Yang gritted her teeth, and her eyes became a bright shade of red. "Fine. We'll leave, and find Blake later. But if she's dead, and the reason is that you gave up, I'm gonna give all of you a free vasectomy."

"That sounds grant," Penny said with a smile. "Constant checks of the waste disposal areas are important for one's well-being."

"That's not what she meant," Bailey replied. "Now, can we go?"

"Sure. Nora? Open the door." Dutch commanded.

Nora 'opened' the glass door, and they went inside. "Gunny... you're gonna wanna see this," Mickey said in disappointment.

Buck stepped in and looked around. The entire area was flooded to a degree that even the skyscrapers were partially underwater. There was no way they would get out of here. "Well, fuck," Nora said.

"That means we're screwed, right?"

Buck looked up, as a Phantom passed by, flying towards a nearby balcony. "Not yet. Wait here, me, Yang, Mickey and Penny are gonna steal that ride."

"Gunny, I can fly a Pelican, but a Phantom? It's been years since I even ran a simulator." Mickey complained.

"Sometimes you just gotta wing it," Nora replied.

"Also, I'm seeing Banshees parked over there," Ren added. "When you're in the air, we'll cover you."

"Ugh, fine. Let's go."

They ran past an abandoned train until they could clearly see the Covenant troops. A small platoon, consisting of Brutes, Jackals, Unggoy and one Huragok was deployed there.

"Okay, try not to hurt the Huragok," Yang said.

"Or else?" Mickey replied.

"Or else I'm gonna throw you into the water. Now let's go." They ran from cover to cover, closer to the Phantom while shooting at the Covenant Troops.

A Jiralhanae took control of a Plasma Turret and began scorching the area the humans were in. "Penny? Can you take him out?"

"Sure thing." Penny stood up but got scratched on her shoulder by Plasma, forcing her down again. "Maybe not."

Suddenly, a loud shot rang through the air, and the Jiralhanae dropped. Yang looked up, and saw Dutch's Sniper Rifle on a train, reflecting moonlight and the few streetlights that were still working. She gave him a thumbs up and started to storm the position.

The Grunts started to panic and were picked off by Dutch, Buck, and Mickey, who started to advance as well.

As soon as the lower level was cleared, Yang moved up, only to nearly be hit by a shot from a Fuel Rod cannon. She saw two Grunts wielding the heavy weapons and started to dodge the deadly shots.

Mickey ran up the stairs and dove into cover as he noticed the Fuel Rod Guns. He pulled the pin out of a Grenade, and threw it, blowing up one of the Grunts. The other one was distracted by the explosion for a short moment, enough for Yang to throw a stone at him. He was surprised by the sudden move, and the last thing the Grunt saw was Yang's fist.

The others came up the stairs, and together, they managed to take out the last soldiers on the ground, except for the Huragok. "Go, Mickey. Up the lift, kill the pilots." Buck commanded, and the ODST entered the Phantom.

Yang reached out one hand to the Huragok to calm it down, as the armor it wore suddenly extended spikes, and started beeping. She jumped away, and the armor exploded, scattering blue blood and meat everywhere. Yang looked in shock at the scene, as Buck came closer. "Looks like the Brutes have put bombs on those guys. Poor things."

"They'll pay for that," Yang said through gritted teeth.

 _"Ugh, cabin secure. Flight controls read green across the board... well, purple, but she's good to go... I think."_ Mickey muttered over the comms.

"Ok, we'll grab Banshees to help you out. Go get the others."

 _"On my way."_

"Yang? Can you fly a Banshee?"

Yang nodded. "Sure." She saw Ren coming in and approaching one of the Banshees.

"Sir?" Both looked to their side and saw Penny.

"Yes?"

"Can I help in the air too?"

"What? You wanna use your swords to move between the buildings?" Yang asked.

"No. Look." Penny brought out all her swords, minus the one she lost in the crash, and rearranged them into two plane-like wings for herself, with some of them working as thrusters. "I present... The Penny Plane!"

"What. The. Fuck." Buck and Yang deadpanned.

"It's a special function Mister Ironwood wanted me to have, in case I had to go somewhere fast, or fight Grimm in the air."

"After everything that happened today, I'm just going to accept it. Come on, Yang."

The blonde nodded, and they ran up to the parked Banshees, both grabbing one. The Antigravity Generators of the Banshees started to buzz, and both went up into the air above the flooded part of New Mombasa.

 _"All set back there?"_ Mickey asked over the comms.

 _"Affirmative. Romeo, let's man these turrets."_ Through the screens inside the Banshee, Yang was able to see the surrounding area, including Dutch and Romeo manning the turrets of the Phantom, while Nora laid down inside the Phantom with her Battle Rifle, ready to cover them.

The quiet wasn't holding for long, however, as they were immediately under fire from Fuel Rods and Turrets on the nearby Rooftops and balconies. "Bucky, take the left with Penny. Ren and I are gonna take the right."

 _"Affirmative Xiao Long,"_ Buck replied. He and Penny flew over and started dodging and shooting at the Covenant position, while Yang and Ren laid down fire over a couple of Grunts equipped with Fuel Rods.

The hot Plasma burned holes into the balcony, and molten stone dripped down, as one Grunt after the other fell. Luckily, the shots of their Fuel Rods traveled slowly, giving them enough time to react and dodge. Eventually, the Unggoy and two Brutes on the balcony were dead, and it gave up under the continued Plasma Fire, partially falling off and into the water below.

Ren and Yang turned towards the elevated street in front of them and destroyed a Shade with two Banshee Bombs.

Suddenly, one of the two blast doors in front of them opened up, and two Banshees came out. _"Ah! Banshees, comin' through the tunnel."_ Romeo yelled out.

"Yeah, kinda hard to miss," Yang replied. Luckily, even without her comm equipment, she was able to communicate using the Banshees systems, although she wondered if the Covenant was overhearing their conversations.

She dodged a Banshee Bomb, before returning the fire with her plasma cannons. The Banshee did a Barrel Roll, before taking Yang under fire. It rolled to the side though, as the Phantom started shooting at it. The heavy Plasma Turret did good damage on the Banshee, and it exploded, the remains falling into the water.

Meanwhile, Penny and Buck had entered the tunnel and were taking out the Covenant forces inside. The others followed, and Yang was able to see a big explosion, as Buck ignited some Plasma Coils that stood around a Wraith. Leaving the smoking are behind, they left the tunnel, coming into another open area.

A phantom was dropping Huragok, bound together like a chain, above a strange, pyramid-like object. _"Well, look at that. I think we found us a squid house."_ Dutch said.

 _"Give me an angle, I'm gonna burn-"_

"Forget it. They aren't of concern right now. Concentrate on the things that are actually shooting at us. Hurt one Huragok, and I'm gonna revert your puberty." Yang yelled angrily over the comms.

 _"Jesus, you're really concerned about those bastards."_

"Of course. They are just slaves of the Covenant. They even put bomb belts on them. Killing them is like killing civilians."

 _"Ugh, fine,"_ Romeo replied.

 _"Maybe Yang just likes tentacles..."_ Nora muttered, unaware that her comm was on. What followed, was a long silence.

"Nora... I'm definitely going to punch you after this." Yang said.

The conversation ended, as the Covenant noticed them closing in. A couple of Banshees immediately set out to take them down, but the Human forces managed to fend them off, thanks to better coordination and Penny.

As they approached the next doors, they didn't open, and Buck left his Banshee. He approached a little keypad and opened the door manually. "Door's open."

Yang flew in as the spearhead and was immediately greeted by a huge amount of Grunts, all opening fire at her. Yang tried to dodge, but what she guessed were damage reports came up everywhere in the cockpit. "Ah... Fuck it." She jumped out, rolling off on the ground. The Banshee splattered a couple of Grunts under it, as Yang started to make her way to an empty Banshee standing on a ledge in the tunnel, while the Phantom took out the remaining Unggoy.

Yang went into the Fighter, and flew around in the air, making sure the controls were working accordingly. Under her, a Phantom dropped off Huragok, before it left through the door to the next open area.

Once again, Yang flew in first and was almost hit by a barrage of Fuel Rod shots. She looked to her side and saw a new kind of Wraith, equipped with Fuel Rod Cannons instead of a plasma Mortar. "Guys got a strange Wraith here. Shoots green goo."

 _"That's an Anti-Air Wraith. Be careful, or that thing will turn you into scrap in seconds."_ Romeo responded.

Yang used the agility of her Banshee to dodge the shots while shooting at the Wraith in question. The alloy and armor of the Wraith slowly gave in, and the Wraith stopped working after Yang hit the Cockpit with a Banshee Bomb. "Way's free."

After she said that, the Phantom and remaining Banshees left the tunnel, and started to take care of the remaining forces, consisting of Brutes, Grunts, Banshees, and Shades.

Yang quickly joined up with Ren, and together, they took down another AA-Wraith, and finished the last Unggoy. _"Gunny, another locked door, hit the override,"_ Mickey said, and Buck landed next to the big door. He once again entered something on the keypad, but the door didn't open. Instead, two smaller doors opened up.

 _"Damn, door's jammed. Must've lost power."_

 _"I'll head through on foot, see if I can find a workaround inside the tunnel. Yang, Ren, can you land and help me out?"_

 _"No problem. Approaching now." Ren replied._

 _"Go on in, we'll cover the door, make sure no one gets in behind you."_

"You sure?" Yang asked.

 _"Don't worry. We'll watch your back!"_ Penny said happily, as she stopped next to Yang's Banshee. With her wings, it almost looked like she was wearing some sort of Jetpack.

"Thanks, guys," Yang replied, and landed.

* * *

Ren slowly landed his Banshee next to Yang's and Buck's, and the three met up next to the opened door. He quickly checked Stormflower and entered. Inside, they were able to see the blue glow of a Squidhouse hanging on the wall, with over a dozen Huragok sleeping inside.

"I'm gonna check that little room over there," Buck said and pointed at a small control center to their right. "Keep the Covenant off my back."

"Understood," Ren replied. He and Yang went up a couple of stairs and took a glimpse at the Covenant Forces. They consisted of Brutes, Grunts, and Jackals, with he assistance of a Huragok. A couple of Plasma Coils stood next to a group of Grunts, and Ren aimed at them with Stormflower. A short burst of fire later, the coils exploded, destroying everything close to them, including the group of Grunts.

That, of course, got the attention of the Jackals and Brutes, who immediately opened fire. Ren rolled behind a crate for cover, and returned the fire with his SMG, taking out one of the Jackals.

Yang, however, took a more direct approach, taking on the Brutes in CQC. Luckily, that meant that the Brutes concentrated on her, and slowly spread out. Ren used that to take them out one after the other from different hiding places, killing them when they came to close.

After the Brutes were finished, Ren looked over to Yang, who was fighting a Chieftain. She dodged the swing of his hammer, but Ren knew that one hit would be enough for some serious injuries. Thus, he joined the fray in hopes to help out Yang.

He quickly cut at the Chieftain with the blades of his Stormflower, and the Brute turned around, enabling Yang to swipe away his legs. Ren stabbed the blades of Stormflower into the Brutes' chest, and it yelled out in pain, as Yang pummeled his head in with the hammer.

They saw Buck leaving the little room, and he looked around the battlefield. "Well, you've done good work. The controls in there are busted. We've to try the other side."

"Then let-" Yang was cut off, as something lifted her up.

"Brute Stalkers!" Buck yelled and sprayed his AR around Yang. She was dropped, as the figure of a Brute shortly lit up next to her.

"Brute what?" Ren asked.

"Brutes with camouflage. I can roughly see them with my VISR, so listen up when I tell you where they are."

Ren, Yang, and Buck slowly walked back, trying to make out any hint of the Brutes. "Ren! Behind you!" Buck yelled, and Ren quickly shot his weapons in that direction. The energy shield of a Brute lit up before he went back to being invisible.

"This isn't working. They are too fast."

"Dodge!" Buck yelled as a red object flew towards them. All jumped away, and the Grenade hit the ground, setting it on fire.

"Molotovs!" Yang yelled in surprise. "Those fuckers got Molotovs."

"Kinda," Buck replied.

"We gotta mark them somehow," Yang muttered. "Are there paint cans anywhere?"

Ren thought for a moment and had an idea. "Something similar. Cover me."

He quickly ran towards a little structure and found exactly what he was looking for: First-Aid Kits. He took both and ripped out the Biofoam container. Above them, the simplistic face of the Superintentend smiled. He ran back to the others and waited for Buck's warning. "Left!"

Ren sprayed some Biofoam in that direction, and it stuck to the Brute. Like Ren hoped, the Active Camouflage didn't hide the Foam, making the Brute visible. He threw one can to Buck, who began marking the Brutes, while Yang took them out.

After five minutes, all Stalkers were defeated, and they threw the empty cans on the ground. "Good idea," Buck said.

"Thanks. Get to the other terminal. We'll watch out for more enemies."

Buck nodded and quickly ran to the other room. Seconds later, the big doors opened. _"That did it! Door's open!"_ Mickey yelled over the comms.

"Are our Banshees still intact?" Yang asked.

 _"About that... They got kinda destroyed during a fight against a small group of Nevermore."_ Nora said.

 _"Stop lying. You accidentally shot them while trying out the plasma turret."_ Mickey added.

"Come on, I think there might be more Banshees up ahead," Buck said. They followed him outside and froze at what they saw. Across the water, on the other side of the area, right in front of the doors stood a giant, insect-like vehicle.

It looked at them and tilted it's massive cannon as if cracking its neck. "Troopers, I got bad news..." Buck said.

 _"What, you really gonna make us walk outta this city?"_ Romeo asked.

"We got a Scarab, right by our exit."

"How do we beat this thing?" Yang asked.

 _"Take out its legs, and it'll stop moving. Then, shoot the energy core in the back. Should be easy to do with Banshees."_

Ren looked around and saw a couple of Banshees parked nearby. They ran towards them, while the Scarab shot its massive energy beam at them. However, it was slower than them, meaning that it only destroyed the housefront behind them, although it was easy to fell the heat the plasma emitted.

While it was cooling down its beam, they quickly took out a small group of Grunts and took one Banshee each.

However, that also meant that the Scarab was now using its Anti-Air Gun. Ren did his best to dodge the shots and eventually was above the Scarab. It seemed like those things were well-armored and hit hard, but were pretty slow. Adding to that, there wasn't really much space here, making Ren wonder why that thing was here in the first place.

He jumped out of his Banshee and landed on top of the Scarab. Grunts and Kig-Yar that made up the crew of the platform instantly opened fire, but Ren managed to dodge most of the shots, and get close enough to the Aliens to easily cut them down while making his way to the back of the Scarab, where he found the core. It looked like it consisted of Lekgolo worms, and was kept safe by an energy shield.

Ren took a Plasma Pistol from a dead Grunt and held down the trigger, releasing an overcharged shot and breaking the shield. He decided to stick a Plasma Grenade to the Lekgolo, and duck down as it exploded.

Dead, burning Lekgolo rained down from the core, and red warning lights started blinking. He quickly ran up to the front of the dying Scarab, as it slowly went to its knees, small explosions going off across the hull.

He looked up and saw a Banshee coming closer. He managed to grab its wing, and the Banshee flew back up, away from the Scarab. The platform exploded in a bright, blue Fireball, and debris rained down around the Scarab wreck.

The Banshee slowly sat Ren down and parked. Buck came out of the fighter. "Good job. But next time, remember that those things blow up."

"Thanks." The Phantom closed in, and Ren went into the Gravity Lift, which quickly brought him into the ship, where Nora hugged him in an instant.

The door opened, and the Phantom flew in, spotting dozens of Squid Nests in the tunnel, blocking the way. "I think I have to shoot them down," Mickey said.

"You wanna get in trouble with Goldilocks?" Dutch asked. "You know how she'll react when you kill 'em."

"What else am I supposed to do?"

"Well, we have the choice to get out of here, or Yang becoming angry at you," Nora explained.

"Well Dutch?"

"I'm thinkin'."

"Screw it," Mickey muttered and aimed the turret at the objects. Two shots later they blew up, nearly destroying the tunnel. "Hell yeah!"

 _"What the fuck was that just now?"_ Yang asked over the comms furious.

"We didn't have a choice, 'kay?" Mickey replied. "I'm scared." He said to Dutch quietly.

"I mean, how angry can she be?" Romeo asked.

 _"You screwed up, guys. Yang's Banshee is literally on fire right now, and she's flying straight to you. Kinda looks like a meteor."_ Buck warned them.

"Mickey! Accelerate!" Romeo yelled.

Mickey did what he was told, and sped up the Phantom, but it was too late. They heard something landing on top, and a second later, Yang jumped in through the side, her hair on fire and her eyes a deep red.

"Where are they?" She asked.

"In the cockpit." Nora said, and pointed at the open door. The angry blonde jabbed Nora for her comment earlier, and entered the cockpit.

"Who of you bastards hit the Huragok?"

"C- Calm d-d-down, blondie." Romeo stuttered.

"Calm down? You killed dozens of innocent creatures, you asshole!"

"I just wanna point out that I've got nothin' to do with this." Romeo muttered.

"Hey, Dutch, remember the Musketeer Code?"

"That was over fivehundred years ago. I don't care. And it doesn't extend to demons."

Ren sighed, and put his hand on her shoulder, using his Semblance to calm her down. She started to breathe more calmly, and eventually the fire on her hair stopped, while her eyes turned lilac again. "Ren? Thanks."

"No problem."

"I'm still gonna punch them though."

"Go ahead."

"Oh Lord..." Dutch said before a fist met his face.

* * *

Buck left his Banshee, sliding directly into the Gravlift of the Phantom. Everyone except for Penny, who was still approaching the Phantom, and Mickey who was flying the Phantom was in the bay, waiting for him. Buck took a quick look at them and saw red marks on their heads, as well as blood coming down from their forehead. "What happened here?"

"Just a little punishment for killing the Huragok." Yang said with a grin.

"Huh. Thought you'd break their bones."

"Ren calmed me down." Yang replied with a shrug

The Lift activated again, and Penny came in. The swords retreated back into her backpack, and she sat down at the wall. "Everything okay?" Dutch asked.

"I'm sorry, but I won't be of much assistance further," Penny said, a bit weak. "My Flymode consumed a lot of my energy reserves. I have to recharge first." Thus, she took a cord out of her pocket and plugged it into a nearby energy outlet in a corner. Or tried, at least. "Okay, I may have to recharge in a human building."

"Recharge? Are you a robot?" Dutch asked, and everyone turned towards him.

"No shit, sherlock."

"Just glad we didn't go through the tunnels," Romeo said and looked outside from over the turret. The sky was full of dirty clouds and dust while having a red taint to it, creating a fitting atmosphere for what was basically the end of the world. "Look at those tunnels. Ones that aren't flooded are probably packed with Buggers. Hell, I wouldn't go down there even if you ordered me to."

"Mickey, turn around! Find a safe place to set us down!" Buck suddenly yelled out.

"What? Why?"

"Bucky... Are you crazy?" Nora asked.

"Wait, are you going to search for Blake?" Yang asked.

"No... I lost something, and now I know where to find her."

"Oh, when you can stick your dick inside then its okay to search the city," Yang replied angrily.

"Wow." Nora deadpanned.

"Yang, you're coming with me. If we're lucky, then Blake's there too."

Yang closed her eyes, thinking about it for a second. "Fine. Where do we have to go anyway?"

"Into the tunnels."

"Dude, you're crazy." Mickey said.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Inner City**  
 **October 20; 2552; 23:41**

Blake fired upon a nearby vehicle, blowing it up, and stopping the pursuit of their attacker for a second. Shortly after they started following the track of their friends, they got attacked by the giant Grimm. Without any way to actually beat this thing in a direct fight, they decided to run towards Kikowani Station, in hopes to get away from the monster.

The Nuckelavee quickly shook off the explosion and began following them again. The two had to dodge its arms, as it tried to get a hold of the duo. The growls and hooves of the creature echoed through the night during the chase, and some groups of Grunts fled into buildings as Blake and the Rookie passed them.

Suddenly, the Rookie pressed on the side of his helmet, and a female voice was coming out. _"Can anyone hear me? This is Captain Veronica Dare! My beacon is active. Need immediate assistance! Someone, please respond!"_

"Who was that?" Blake asked.

"The Captain of my team. She's... underground."

"You know how to get there?" Blake replied, dodging the arm of the Grimm.

"Yes, follow me." The Rookie ran into a thin alleyway, and Blake quickly followed him. This was the perfect opportunity to get rid of the Grimm. It shouldn't be able to enter the tunnels below the city, as long as the entrance is long enough. The Nuckelavee slowly came through the alleyway and continued following them.

"There!" The Rookie yelled, pointing at a glass door at a street. Brutes were standing around it, and stepped back as they saw the Grimm. It seemed like it had gotten somewhat of a reputation amongst the Covenant troops in the city.

They opened fire with their Spikers, and one hit Blake into the arm. Her Aura absorbed the hit but got drained considerably. She tried to dodge the other shots and dragged one of the Brutes towards them with her ribbon. The Brute got attacked by the Nuckelavee, which simply grabbed him, and thrusted his head into the ground.

The Rookie shot at the glass door, easily shattering it, and threw a Grenade to the Brutes, causing them to jump away. Suddenly, something wrapped around his body, and he noticed that the Nuckelavee managed to grab him. Not that it held long. Blake reacted quickly, and cut into the arm with Gambol Shroud, causing the Grimm to shriek in pain.

"Come on." She said as she helped him up, and they continued running towards the door.

More Spikes flew over their heads as the ran, the Brutes unsure whether to attack them or the Grimm. Blake and the Rookie jumped into the shaft that led down into the tunnels, but not before Blake noticed something on the wall.

Some sort of long stick. It only took a second until she realized what it was, and hugged the Rookie in an attempt to shield him. The Stick blew up, and Spikes flew through the entire shaft, draining Blake's Aura and piercing into her side. Two hit the Rookie, and both fell down the shaft while the Nuckelavee was fighting the Brutes outside.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Earth** **  
New Mombasa; Last Evacuation Zone**  
 **October 20; 2552; 20:09  
**

Tyrian snuck into he crowd gathered in the Evacuation Zone, hoping not to get caught by anyone. Sure, as long as he kept his tail hidden, he wouldn't stand out too much, maybe some people would just stare at him for his choice of clothes or hairstyle.

No, the big problem was that he didn't have any papers. The soldiers in charge of the Evacuation were checking everyone who tried to get onboard, partially using paperwork or ID-cards or scanning their eyes and implants. And he had none of that. Sure, he could try to fight his way in, but that would draw unwanted attention, as well as possibly stopping the ship from launching.

As he stood there waiting and thinking, he noticed a family next to him, consisting of the parents and two small children. The kids were crying loudly, and the parents did their best to keep them quiet. Why was the hell that family even still here? Not that Tyrian cared what would become of them, but he still wondered why those people were here. He guessed that the families were the first to get evacuated in this situation.

"By the way, have you heard of those heroes?" One man next to him said to the family, and the children looked up to the man. He was using a metal pole to keep on his feet, and it looked like he was injured.

"Heroes?" One of the children asked.

"Yes. One of them saved me from the Covenant, tending to my foot. Clad in green, he cut down the Covenant resistance in no time. I've heard that other humans had performed incredible feats in other places of the city. Apparently even using magic."

"Magic?" One of the children asked with big eyes.

It looked like the teens had made a name for themselves. Not that it was surprising, seeing as this situation was completely hopeless, and suddenly eight people appeared and helped out.

Tyrian looked at the ground in thought, as the man in front of him finally entered the ship. Tyrian walked up. "Please show your ID-Card." One of the Marines said. He sounded tired.

"Well, about that, the Covenant burned them while I fled."

"Can you tell me your name then?" At least that excuse worked. Must've happened often.

"Tyrian Cowels."

He started typing on his pad. "Sorry. We don't have this name in our databank. Where do you come from?"

"Well, uhm..." Tyrian started to think about this. There had to be a place he could name from the city. "Kikowani."

"The train station? So you're homeless?"

Tyrian sighed internally. Being homeless wasn't exactly the identity he was going for, but maybe this was just what he needed to get on the ship. "Yes, I am homeless." They probably wouldn't ask a homeless person for any kind of authen-

"Then let me scan your implant." So much for that.

"As a homeless person, I don't possess one."

"Bullshit. Everyone has an implant at birth. Now turn around."

"No... the spot is, uhm, very sensitive."

"Okay, I've got enough. Go back in line. We still have a plethora of families to get on board."

"But-" Tyrian was cut off, as screams were heard from the back of the area. Two big, purple objects had come around a corner. Both shot, hitting the middle of the crowd, turning people into smoking puddles.

"Shit! Wraiths! Everyone get inside!" One of the Marines yelled, and grabbed his Rifle.

The people didn't wait long, and ran into the ship, trampling over each other while the Marines tried to hold off the Wraiths. Tyrian ran into one of the rooms, as the ship shook. "We're starting, hold onto something!"

Out of the window, Tyrian could see the Marines outside getting overrun by the Covenant, and two purple objects coming towards the Evac. They opened fire but didn't come far, as a hail of bullets ripped the Banshees to shreds. Two aircrafts came into view, both equipped with two rotors and an open bay, a Machine Gun watching each side.

"Falcons! We're saved!" Someone inside yelled out.

The aircrafts followed the Condor as high as possible, before going back into the city. The ship broke through the atmosphere, and slowly approached a carrier hanging above them. Tyrian looked outside and saw the chaos that was taking place. Grey human ships and purple Covenant ships were dealing out shots at each other, while powerful Orbital Stations shot through shieldless spacecrafts like through butter.

The signs of fights on Earth was just as visible, as giant explosions and dust clouds were visible in the atmosphere, akin to volcanoes erupting on the planet. That's when Tyrian realized something. In this situation, he had no chance of actually finding Ruby. Instead, he decided to wait until this war was over. Either Rose died in battle, or was triumphant, after which he would come for her.

"Mommy, are we going to make it?" The girl from the family he saw earlier asked weakly. It looked like the whole family made it here alive.

"We will, honey. We will." The father replied and hugged his daughter.

Tyrian sighed and continued to look out the window. Who knew, maybe next time he was coming for Rose, he'd have his own little army helping him. He could take on one huntress, even four of them, but not eight with the help of an entire military and Penny behind them.

A bit defeated, he sat down, and quickly fell asleep from the tiring day, as the Condor entered the big UNSC carrier.

* * *

 **And here's Chapter 22, with the debut of the Penny Plane.  
**

 **Again, who says that the Penny Plane is dumb, it's an canon thing, and can be seen in the RWBY Manga.  
**

 **From now on, the format of AlphaNine- Blake, and Rookie- Tyrian is going to stop, seeing as the events come together now, and Tyrian is off of Earth. Obviously though, Tyrian will come back later.**

 **Now to replies:**

 **Tronmaster5704: I mean, he's working for Salem. I doubt she'd hire idiots. (Or send them on missions like that)**

 **joshuaobryan549: That's something I hate too. Especially in Movies, the villains are often bland baddies. That's why I like Salem, as she seems to be more than pure-evil, especially with her plans. Or Characters like the Meta from RvB.**

 **Gundam-Knight-Chris: No, you don't have to. But it'd help me out. (That's what the reviews are for)**

 **djmegamouth: Thanks**

 **Shockwave: ...Okay**

 **ChronoHyperion: For now, those are all the characters from RWBY that are going to play a major role. The In Amber Clad will come back in Chapter 26. I'm definitely going to look into these monsters if I need an idea for new Grimm.  
Don't worry about the multiple messages. It's not the first time that happened. I think it might be a problem with the servers, or the internet connection.**

 ** ** **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.******


	23. A bug in the system

Chapter 23: A bug in the system

 **Sol-System, Earth  
New Mombasa; Data Center  
October 20; 2552; 23:54**

The Rookie shoved the debris off of him, shaking his head to get his mind clear. The sound of the explosion still buzzed around in his head, and the pain of the spikes hitting his body made it hard to concentrate.

He activated his visor, getting a good view of where he was. In the Data Center, under New Mombasa. According to a sign on the wall, it was sub-level 7, and the marker he had set to Dare's position indicated his goal to be on sub-level 9.

And then his view fell onto the more important thing in the room. Blake. She was lying next to the elevator shaft, a puddle of blood around her. "Shit." The Rookie got up and ran over to Blake. He pulled out a medical scanner and used it on Blake.

A second later, her vitals showed up. She was stable and alive, albeit unconscious. He quickly took an Optican pack from a dispenser at the wall and sprayed biofoam onto Blake's wound. However, as he was about to apply the medicine, he noticed that the wound had already healed for the most part.

Still, he applied it, just in case his head was playing tricks on him. After the biofoam and other medicine in the can were empty, he 'lightly' slapped Blake across the face.

She jumped up instantly and winced. Her side seemed to still be damaged, and the sudden movement only worsened it. "What happened? Where are we?"

"In the data center, on sub-level 7. Are you all right?"

"Y-Yeah." Blake stepped forward and cringed. "Mostly. I don't think I can do any sudden movements."

"No problem." The Rookie replied and picked up Gambol Shroud. "Just shoot from a distance."

Blake nodded. "Where do we have to go?"

"Sub-level 9. We have to get moving, or the Covenant finds Dare and whatever she's after before we do."

Thus, the two opened up the door, and Blake instantly started to shiver. "Damn it's cold in here."

"That's weird. Maybe the air conditioning has failed." The Rookie guessed.

"Quiet," Blake replied.

"Why?"

"I hear something. Grunts." Both ducked down, and used some railings and open server towers as cover, slowly approaching the source of the sounds.

It looked like the datacenter was a maze of tunnels, and they were currently in one of the bigger ones. Doors led out everywhere, though most seemed to be damaged, as they had a small, red light blinking.

They finally got a good look on the Grunts as they arrived at a couple of control panels with knocked-over chairs. There were two Grunts, talking with each other.

"Why Yanme'e not seal this entrance?"

"Too busy building fancy spit house and killing monsters!"

"Nah. If Traitor escapes, it their fault, not ours."

"He got a point," Blake whispered.

"Yanme'e. Buggers." The Rookie added. "It sounds like the Covies are searching for something down here. A Traitor."

"You think that's what Dare's after too?" Blake asked.

"Likely. I would be surprised if ONI wouldn't take the opportunity to get a former Covenant member. But I'm worried about the monsters they mentioned..."

"Probably Grimm," Blake said. "We have to be careful."

Rookie nodded, and lifted his SMG up, aligning the sight with one of the Grunts.

The Unggoy was ripped apart by the bullets, and Blake opened fire as well, even if her arm shook from the recoil. The Grunts fell quickly, but it sounded like they also alarmed more troops down the tunnel.

The heavy boots of Brutes echoed throughout the tunnel, and bursts of fire illuminated the dark tunnels, as they started to shoot at the wall.

"The hell are they doing?" Blake asked.

The fire stopped, and the boots came back towards them. The Jiralhanae finally came into view and instantly opened fire.

Blake ducked down behind a server and took some potshots at the aliens. One hit the shoulder of one Brute, and he yelled out in pain.

One of the Brutes stepped forward, and the ground under him gave up. His upper body still stuck out of the hole, and he started to scream, as purple blood started to pour out from the hole.

"What the hell?" J.D. asked, and ended the trapped Brute with a headshot, feeling somewhat sorry for him.

The other two Brutes, however, got angry and threw away their weapons to go into melee. They ran towards Blake and the Rookie, passing by the servers. The Rookie took his combat knife and stabbed it into one of the Brutes as he ran past him.

The injured Jiralhanae turned around, ready to rip the ODST to shreds, as he fell over, a single bullet in his head. The other Brute ran towards the Rookie too, trying to avenge his fallen brother.

Blake used the chance and shot an entire magazine in the back of the Brute. He fell down, and the two slowly approached the hole.

Using all their strength, they pulled the dead Brute out and stepped back. His entire lower body was nothing more than blood, shattered bones and skin that was loosely hanging down.

"Not them," Blake muttered in horror.

"Not what?"

Blake took one of the Brutes Spike Grenades and threw it into the hole. It looked like it did its job, as an insect-like creature jumped out.

Even though the VISR made the colors all look a bit different than they actually were, it was clear that the monster had a white carapace. Long, thin legs dangled down, as compact wings held the insect in the air. Its head featured two sets of long pincers, with a rugged edge. The two forelimbs were shaped like digging tools.

"What the-"

"It's a Myrmeleo! Just shoot!" Blake yelled, and both pumped the thing full of bullets. It fell to the ground and started to dissolve. "Ever heard of antlions?"

"You mean those things dig traps?"

"Yep. Once you're caught, you're most likely dead." She nodded towards the shredded Brute. "I mean, you see what it did to this guy."

"Those things are getting nastier and nastier. This is the first time I'm okay with a city being glassed."

"Let's get your Captain first, then we can wait for the city to be burned to the ground," Blake replied, and they continued, trying to keep as low of a profile as possible.

After sneaking past a couple of patrols, the two arrived at thinner tunnels, leading through circular rooms with hatches in the middle. A lot of the doors were broken or had fallen in, courtesy of the Grimm that dug through the Earth.

Suddenly, the heard shouting and gunfire from deeper inside. "This way! We have it trapped!" A Brute yelled.

"Do it, Vergil. Now!"

"CONSTRUCTION AHEAD. EXPECT DELAYS!"

"I'm gonna die, you hear me?"

"Someone's still alive down there?" Blake asked.

"Come on, we won't leave that man hanging." The Rookie replied and threw a Grenade into the hallway. They heard the dying screams of a couple of Grunts.

Blake opened fire, killing the injured Brute. While walking past the corpses, she picked up a couple of red Grenades and instantly threw them on two Brutes in the next circle.

They started to burn and threw themselves onto the ground to get the flames out. However, the special chemical compound inside made that impossible, and the Brutes slowly died, filling the air with a sickening stench of burned flesh and hair.

After roughly four seconds, the fire died down, and the two went deeper into the facility.

The survivor, who turned out to be an NMPD Officer, was in the next room, trying to fend off two Kig-Yar. Blake and J.D. both shot one of the Jackals in the back, and the Officer came out of his cover. The Rookie saw that the man carried an M90 Shotgun.

"Thanks, Troopers. They almost had me. I'm trying to get down to the next level checking my team, but..." He pointed at the middle of the room. "this stack is locked down tight."

"Can't you just use this thing?" Blake asked, and approached a panel next to the data stack, as the Superintendent's voice suddenly echoed through the room.

"WELCOME. ACCESS GRANTED." The panel unlocked, and one press of the button later, the stack opened up with a hiss.

"Guess you have the magic touch, girl." The Officer replied.

The sound of insects was heard, as big, green and brown insects carrying Plasma Pistols came out from below.

"Buggers, look out!" He yelled, and opened fire with his Shotgun, shooting one of the Yanme'e out of the sky.

Blake tried to shoot the Drones down with Gambol Shroud, but her injury made it almost impossible to line up a shot with the fast-moving Aliens.

Thus, she took her SMG, and just sprayed it into the air. She actually hit the wing of one Yanme'e, and it fell to the ground, where Blake finished it with her blade.

Meanwhile, the Rookie was taking out the last two Drones, and then reloaded his weapon.

"What's wrong with you, Vergil?" The Officer asked, screaming at the panel. "You trying to get me killed?"

"WARNING! HITCHHIKER MAY BE ESCAPED CONVICTS!"

"Let's go down," Blake said. "It seems like we have the same goal. If we can reconvene with your group, maybe we can stop the Covenant together."

"Fine. Come on." The Officer jumped down, and the Rookie tried to follow him.

However, he was stopped by Blake. "Hey, let's keep a close eye on him. I'm not sure if we can trust him."

The Rookie would lie if he'd say that he fully trusted the guy himself. There had to be a reason the Superintendent tried to not let him go deeper. He simply nodded and jumped down.

After going through a door, they once again found themselves in deep darkness. However, that also meant they had an advantage, as long as they'd keep clear of any Grimm-pits.

He activated his VISR again, and noticed a lot of Buggers, eating what looked like human corpses. "Son of a bitch!" The policemen swore. "These are my guys. The Buggers got all of them!"

The Officer looked down and seemed to be whispering something. Although the Rookie couldn't understand a word, he noticed how Blake's bow twitched, and he added this little fact to his collection of evidence. Evidence that Blake actually had extra ears under there.

The NMPD Officer turned back towards them. "What are you two doing down here, anyway?"

"We're searching for someone," Blake replied. "A missing ODST."

"Huh. I thought you guys always stuck together. Though I'm still not sure what the girl's doing here."

"It's complicated," Blake explained. "Just roll with it."

They quickly took out the surprised Buggers and then started to sneak past some other Covenant forces. Luckily, they seemed occupied. Holes were darting the walls, and the Covenant was fending off some Creeps and Myrmeleos, although the latter mostly killed Covies with heir traps.

As they entered the next set of thin hallways and circular rooms, they noticed that the ground had been dug up in a hallway. "Great. How are we going to get past there?"

Blake grabbed a piece of rubble and threw it into the trap. Nothing happened. "Not heavy enough."

The Rookie grabbed one of the Grenades he had left and threw it into the trap. It exploded, and the Grimm came out in surprise. It tried to attack with its claws but was shot down easily.

Thankfully, it looked like the Myrmeleos had control of the area, if the corpses of Covenant members were anything to go by, and had dug a multitude of traps everywhere.

The Rookie and the Officer carried a dead Grunt to one of the traps that were directly in the way and threw it. It disappeared as dust steeped up, and Blake threw her second Fire Grenade after it.

After using similar tactics on the other traps, they finally reached the next stack. Once again, Blake was the one to open it, and they jumped down.

The next tunnel was just as dark as the others, and filled with holes. They were just about to sneak by again, as they heard a loud sound from deeper within the tunnel, and the two people able to see in the dark made out black smoke rising in the distance, and a muscular figure behind it.

After the dead Grimm were completely gone, it revealed itself to be a Brute, carrying a heavy Plasma Turret, assisted by two other Jiralhanae.

Blake ducked down behind a server tower, and took potshots at the Brutes, hoping to hit them. One shot actually hit a Jiralhanae in the shoulder, and the massive creature flinched.

The Rookie and the Officer duck down across from Blake, and shot as much ammo as possible towards the Brutes. With Blake still not able to move as agile as normal, they had to use the simple strategy to take down the Chieftain.

At least it worked for the other two Brutes. The Chieftain turned his turret around and swiftly turned the server tower into a molten junk of metals and alloys. However, his shield suddenly flashed and sparked.

The Rookie looked towards Blake, who was wielding the Plasma Pistol they found before fighting the dinosaur Grimm. She had destroyed the Chieftain's shield with an overcharged shot.

Using the small chance, the Rookie threw his combat knife. It hit the Brute into the chest and gave enough time for the Officer to pump the Brute full of shotgun shells.

"I hate those things," Blake muttered and threw away the now empty Plasma Pistol.

"At least he didn't have one of those damn hammers." The policemen replied.

They continued forth until the air became even colder than it already was, to a degree that there was frost on the surfaces.

The three passed a door, where the Officer stopped them. "Troopers, hold up a sec. I got to check on a... personnel issue."

He walked up to the door, and Blake came close to the Rookie's ear. "Hey, can you follow him inside? I think he may be up to something."

"Yeah. Don't worry."

The door opened, and the Rookie slipped in behind the Officer.

* * *

Blake waited outside the room, always wary of anything that might pop in and try to kill her. This slight anxiety made her much more relieved as the Rookie came back out the door.

"And? Was I correct?"

"I believe so. There was a dead body in there. It seems like the police are the cause of the freezing problem down here. Probably some corrupt cops."

"And what happened to the Officer?"

"He got attacked by a Grimm." The Rookie replied and walked up to a heavy object in a corner.

"Right..." Blake replied. It was obvious that he was lying, and Blake suspected that he either killed or injured the man. Normally, she would condone him for it, but considering the situation, it wasn't the time for that.

She saw how he picked up something big and pressed a button. Fire came out of the front and set a wall on fire. "Nice. Flamethrower."

Blake started at it with huge eyes. "Why didn't we have this when the Flood attacked?"

"What?"

"Nothing," Blake replied, hoping he wouldn't care.

Together, the two fought through another platoon of, already decimated, Covenant soldiers, as a message came in through the comms. _"Buck? Who knows if you can hear me but... I'm sorry. I should have told you more about this mission, more... about everything."_

"Was that Dare?" Blake asked, cutting down the last Yanme'e.

"She's just up ahead. Come on."

They ran into a thin hallway, and approached a door, ready to defend themselves. The Rookie knocked twice, and the door opened up. It revealed another ODST, lacking their usual helmet. She had blond hair, tied together in a ponytail, and, more importantly, was currently aiming a pistol at them.

However, as soon as she realized who she was aiming at, she holstered her gun again. "It's you." She looked at Blake. "And one of the huntresses? I guessed that you were all out of the city by now."

They heard a buzzing sound from the last tunnels, and Dare, gestured them to get inside.

Once in, she led them to a big window, giving them a good look at the facility. It looked like some brown mass had spread over the structure, and Blake first thought that it was Flood. However, a couple of Drones working on it proved that it was just their nest.

"Some Idiots blew up the building at the top of the shaft. Woke the whole hive."

"Likely courtesy of Nora," Blake replied. "Or Yang. Or Both."

"Now, where did our ODST find Blake Belladonna, the only Faunus in this world?"

"Faunus?" The Rookie asked in shock.

"You know me?" Blake asked surprised.

"ONI gave every Agent with high enough clearance a brief rundown, especially the ones here." Dare explained. "It is nice to meet one of you in person though."

"What's a Faunus?" The Rookie asked.

"Can I show him?" Blake asked.

"Sure."

Blake sighed and started to untie her bow. Sure, she hadn't known the Rookie for too long, but there was nothing like a bond forged in hell. And this one surely was.

Even though she couldn't read his expression as she revealed her ears, Blake could guess that his chin fell down.

"Cat ears?" He asked.

"Yeah. Every Faunus has an animal trait."

"That explains the twitching of your bow..."

"You... seem to be taking this pretty lightly." Dare said in surprise.

"I've fought a giant dinosaur made out of pure darkness this night. A catgirl is the last of my worries right now." The Rookie deadpanned.

"Dinosaur Grimm? Sounds like its still bad up there."

"Not as much," Blake explained. "There are only some of the stronger ones left. It appears a lot of the weaker Grimm have settled down here. Anyway, what are you even doing down here?"

Dare pointed at a building down below them, being shot at by Brutes. "Down there? That's the Superintendent. The AI that runs every system in the city. My mission- our mission, is to secure the Superintendent's data."

"Sounds easy enough."

"The only way there leads through the hive. Would be suicide to go alone, but with a Huntress by my side, it should work."

"Okay, I've gotta stop you there." Blake interrupted. "I can't really move to my full extent right now. Some Brute hit me with his Spikes."

"Three people should still be enough. We can move in a turtle formation. That should cover all sides."

"All right. Let's get down there before they actually break in." The Rookie said.

The three of them approached the door, and Dare opened it. After confirming that no one was on the other side, they went in. However, before they could continue, Dare walked up to one of the walls and kneeled down. "Interesting."

"What is it?" Blake asked, and looked over her shoulder. There was a hole in the wall, and she was able to see to the other side. There was the room the Superintendent was stored in, and she saw the Brutes, still bashing on the door.

"Can we go through here?"

"I don't see why not," Blake replied. "It should give us an advantage if we surprise them."

Dare nodded, and jumped into the hole, crawling towards the end, followed by Blake and the Rookie.

Blake tried to ignore the sharp rocks and rubble digging into her hands and jumped out as they reached the other side. Ducking down behind a couple of crates, they closed in on the three Brutes.

"Open this door, traitor!" The Chieftain, carrying an Energy Hammer, yelled.

"SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS. ALL DOGS MUST BE KEPT ON A LEASH!"

"By the Prophets, you will pay for your insolence!" The Chieftain replied, getting angrier.

"I'm just gonna ignore that burn for now," Blake whispered. "Dare? Why did he call the AI Traitor?"

"You'll see once we get inside." She slowly snuck up to the Chieftain and rammed her knife into his vital organs. The Chieftain fell dead instantly.

Blake had to admire how fast an ONI Agent was able to assassinate her target. Sure, the organization itself was less than favorable, but it at least saved them a hard fight.

The two others opened fire on the surprised Brutes and easily took them out. With the Aliens out of the way, the three approached the door, and Dare started to open the door using a special Datapad.

They kept their weapons up and entered the hallway, which led to another door, which was opened by a simple retina-scan.

Behind it was a dark, small room. A big machine was standing here, with flickering lights. Sparks came out of the seemingly damages the machine, and a strange, clicking noise was heard.

"Is that-" Blake muttered but was stopped by the Rookie.

"There is something." He aimed his pistol at the machine, as an elongated, blue head peeked around the corner.

"A Huragok!" Blake said in surprise and pushed the Rookie's pistol down. "Stop it, they're friendly."

"Really? Aren't they Covenant?"

The Huragok left his hiding place and hovered towards them. "We've seen them before on other ops," Dare started to explain. "but we've never gotten this close, except for the one Blake brought along as she arrived on Earth."

"You knew one of them already?" The Rookie asked. "How?"

"Long story. The one I knew, Flies Low, said that they themselves are nothing more than mere slaves to the Covenant."

The Huragok was now hovering in front of them and Dare took off the remains of an explosive charge. "And with those bombs around them, I'm sure he told the truth. ONI calls them Engineers, believes they're some sort of biological supercomputers. If I'm right than this one's taken the Superintendents data and combined it with its own." She started to pet the creature's head, something Blake started to do too.

"This is the traitor then..." The Faunus muttered.

Suddenly, the core started beeping. The Huragok hovered to a panel and revealed a small screen by pressing a button. It showed the building they were in and zoomed in to reveal a couple of Brutes with jetpacks landing on the rooftop.

"Damn! Buggers raised the alarm!" The screen zoomed out again and refocused on two figure entering the area in the back.

One of them was wearing a black armor, while the other one had such bright hair that it looked like she was glowing in the dark. "Buck!"

"Yang!"

 _"Veronica? Where the hell are you?"_ Buck asked through the comms.

"Data Center, but we're coming out."

 _"We?"_

"Yang!" Blake yelled. "Keep tight, we'll come out."

 _"Blake? Is that you?"_ Yang replied although it was hard to hear since she didn't have her own comm system and yelled into Buck's ear.

"Do not shoot anything pink!" Dare yelled.

 _"Don't shoot the Engineer. Got it. I don't wanna end up like Mickey anyways."_

"What do-"

"Hey, can we go?" The Rookie asked. "We're kind of in a hurry."

"You, stay behind us." Dare said to the Engineer.

"What's his name anyway?"

"According to the marker, he set in my VISR, Vergil." The Rookie explained and reloaded his SMG.

Holding their weapons ready, Dare opened the door. It looked like Yang and Buck had started to distract the Covenant, and gave the three a good shot at the Brutes' backs.

The surprised Covenant Forces were gunned down easily, and two Phantoms came in left and right, dropping off more Aliens while opening fire on the area with their plasma turrets.

Blake jumped into cover and took shots at the Kig-Yar jumping out of the dropships. She looked over to Dare and Rookie, who had taken cover behind some crates, and noticed a blue layer around them. "What?"

"The Engineer gave us shields!" Dare said relieved and shot down another Grunt.

"Still, there are a bit many of them..." The Rookie replied.

"And it's going to get even worse!" Dare yelled and pointed at the high ceiling. Small creatures came closer, and it didn't take long to see what they were.

"Shit! The whole nest's coming for us!" Blake yelled and jumped up. "Run and gun!"

"Good idea." The Rookie replied.

The four made a break for it, as the swarm of Yanme'e came down towards them like a plague.

"Blake!" Yang yelled happily.

"We can talk in a sec. We have to get out of here!" Blake explained while running past her partner.

"What do you..." Yang looked up and noticed the Buggers. "Oh gods!"

She and Buck followed the others and ran into a small hallway. The door closed, and Yang punched it with all her might to block the entrance.

"Yang. I'm gl-" Blake was interrupted, as she was suddenly embraced in a tight hug.

"Blake... I was so scared. I thought- I thought you were dead."

Blake smiled, and patted Yang's back, tightening the hug. "Me too. I wasn't sure if we would get out of this hellhole." To her surprise, Blake heard how Yang started to cry tears of joy.

"I missed you." Yang tightened the hug, even more, much to Blake's dismay.

"Yang... Air..."

Yang jumped back, and Blake caught her breath. "Sorry."

"Uhm, yeah. This is all good, but we still have to leave the city." Buck pointed out.

"He's right," Yang added. "Earlier, before we started coming down here, we've seen Covenant ships. It won't be long before they'll start burning down the city."

"And where should we go?" Dare asked.

"We've found a good LZ at the Highway. At the zoo. Nora and Ren are already there, clearing the area."

"You've found Ren and Nora?" Blake asked happily.

"Yeah, and Penny. There was also something else, but we'll talk about that later." Yang said.

Although Blake was curious, there wasn't time to chat now. If what Buck and Yang said was true, then there'd be not much time left before the city gets turned into a burning plain of glass.

Without much hesitation, the group, now consisting of five people and an engineer, jumped down a small hatch, landing in another dark tunnel. Blake felt her side as she landed, and decided to go to a medic as soon as this was over.

"At the ceiling..." Yang muttered.

Blake looked up, and saw a group of Yanme'e, sleeping like bats. "Quiet..." Blake whispered.

They tried to sneak past the sleeping insects, and Dare slipped through an open doorway, followed by the Engineer. Buck was about to step through, as dust rained from the ceiling above them.

The ceiling broke, and a Creep jumped out, trying to gnaw Yang. She punched the Grimm, killing it instantly.

"Man, those things are everywhere down here..." Yang said.

"Uhm... I think we woke them up." The Rookie replied.

The Yanme'e jumped off the ceiling and started to shoot at the humans. Yang used her M90 to shoot a red Drone out of the air, while Blake, Buck and the Rookie used their SMGs to take down the others.

One of the Drones flew towards them and grabbed Blake's neck. It tried to scratch her with its claws, but Blake suddenly disappeared, only to re-appear behind the confused alien, and shoot it.

"Looks like you can use your Superpowers again." The Rookie replied and shot another Yanme'e.

After all the insects were taken out, they walked through the doorway and found themselves in yet another tunnel. Vergil was working on a nearby door, his tentacles moving over the door like the fingers of a pianist over the piano.

The door opened, and after fighting another small swarm of Drones, the six finally arrived at a big Elevator.

"In there. Go!" Dare commanded, and all ran, or hovered, into the elevator.

Vergil started it using one of the panels, and the lift came to life, shaking heavily as it ascended.

Buck took off his helmet and shook his head. "Whew! Lord, that stinks. Kinda reminds me of my-" He was unable to finish his sentence, as he received a sudden fist into his face, courtesy of Dare. "What was that for?"

"Abandoning the mission."

"What mission? You dropped off the grid! My squad was scattered-" Once again, he wasn't able to finish. Dare embraced him in a hug and pressed her lips onto his. Buck put his arms around Dare.

Needless to say, the whole situation made the other four in the elevator rather uncomfortable. Yang coughed awkwardly into her fist, hoping to get them off each other.

It worked, and both stopped. They looked as uncomfortable as one could, which amused Yang. "Man, make out session in an elevator."

"You did well..." Buck said. "All of you three. But we're not out of this yet."

The elevator doors opened, leading into the well-lighted hallways of a normal building. The six walked up to a door and flinched as it opened, letting in the bright sunlight of the new morning.

* * *

 **And here's finally Chapter 23.**

 **If someone wonders why it took unusally long, the file got corrupted, so I had to write it all again. Same happened with some other files.**

 **Additionaly, the new Pokemon games came out, and I spent a lot of freetime playing them.**

 **Anyways, now to replies:**

 **AmethystPone: I didn't mean that she wasn't evil. Just that she isn't a stereotypical evil antagonist, seeing how she treats the ones under her.**

 **Cmedina1: Like I said, I didn't say that she wasn't evil.**

 **Tronmaster5704:That Chapter is alreay planned out. It's gonna be pretty epic.**

 **joshuaobryan549: Well, that's why Jaune is one of my favorite RWBY-characters. He is like the normal boy thrown into a situation that's way over his head. And then there's Pyrrha's comment that he has a lot of Aura.**

 **Vault Boy: It depends on how H4 will end.**

 **Guest: Thanks.**

 **ChronoHyperion: Wow, that are a lot of interesting creatures. I'm definitely gonna add them at onepoint. Thanks.**

 **Leader: I have still no idea what this means.**

 **Spartan1992: That and small pockets of water. Kills any spartan.**

 **JohnCena117: Technically yes, but his Aura stopped it, though it also deplets his Aura a good bit. Someone with less Aura could only stop one hit.**

 **red october700: Yes, I know that. I also have the misfortune of having pretty bad teammates. And I mean bad. The type of player that betrays for power weapons and don't play the objective.  
Yeah, the Rookie's death was pretty harsh. When I read that, I actually went quiet for a few minutes out of shock. Especially how it shows that one little mistake can cost a person's life in that situation.  
** ** ** ** **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.********


	24. Last Exit

Chapter 25: Last Exit

 **Sol-System, Earth  
New Mombasa; Inner City  
October 21; 2552; 05:32**

For the UNSC, the battle of New Mombasa was lost. The Covenant had taken control of the city, and more and more ships left Slipspace, directly towards the city. The last victory the UNSC was able to pull off was the bombardment of the Uplift Reserve, destroying it completely. Since then, the influx of Grimm had stopped, leaving but the strongest in the city.

Of course, that didn't mean the threat of the Grimm was stopped. They had already spread outside of the city, and other towns around the Tudor Creek, Killindilli Harbour, and Makupa Causeway had already been overrun, including big ones like Voi.

But dawn had already bathed the city in sunlight, which blinded some of the last remaining humans in the city: Edward Buck, Veronica Dare, J.D. and Yang Xiao-Long, who traveled with the Faunus Blake Belladonna and the Huragok Vergil.

It took a moment for their eyes to adjust. "Dammit, that's bright," Blake muttered.

"It's already morning, seriously?" Yang asked. "Just how long where we down there?"

"We won't be out here for long," Buck replied. "We gotta move, now!"

"Fine, calm down," Yang said.

They walked down the street, and it didn't take long for the group to be under fire. They ran directly into a Covenant Outpost, built in the middle of an intersection. A lookout tower stood atop a small area in the middle, equipped with four plasma turrets, and surrounded by Kig-Yar and Jiralhanae.

"Cover!" Buck yelled, and they ran behind some concrete pillars.

Spikes and Plasma flew around them, taking parts out of the pillars. Blake and Dare took blind potshots at the Covenant, and the dying scream of a Kig-Yar was heard.

"There are too many!" The Rookie yelled.

"Yang, Rookie, flank the bastards from the right," Buck commanded. "Veronica, Blake? We're going to take the left. The Engineer stays in cover, understood?"

Vergil let out a clicking noise, and flew into an open garbage can, closing the lid with his tentacle.

Yang and the Rookie ran to the right, going from pillar to pillar. Both gave each other cover fire, Yang with her M90 and J.D. with his SMG, until they came to a small truck. They took cover behind it, and Yang shot an Unggoy that came around the corner.

"Hey, Rookie? I've got an idea. Can you cover me?"

"Uhm, sure." He replied.

"Thanks." Yang punched the door of the truck, causing it to fall out. She climbed inside, trying not to be too obvious, and made her way to driver's seat. "Okay... Please work like a Warthog. Or Bumblebee." She pressed around randomly on a small control board until the engine came back to life. "Yes."

Yang grabbed the wheel and put her foot on the gas. The Truck started to drive away, and Yang turned it around, facing the Brutes directly. She pressed her hand on the wheel, and a loud _honk_ echoed over the area, drawing the attention of the nearby Covenant, including two of the Grunts on the tower. "Hey, ever heard the word 'Roadkill'?"

The Brutes opened fire, the Spikes digging themselves into the front of the car, but Yang didn't stop, or try to dodge. She kept driving towards them, and accelerated, before jumping out at the last minute. Her plan worked, and the Grunts started to shoot the Truck too.

The now driverless truck mowed over one Brute, but the other four jumped out of the way. However, the Grunts were still shooting it, and the plasma caused the tank to explode. The fireball engulfed the Brutes and caused a second, nearby car to blow up as well.

Yang looked at the destruction and was able to see the charred corpses of the Jiralhanae. The Grunts on the tower looked confused and shocked and were completely stiff. A long object flew through the air, sticking to the upper part of the tower. The grenade exploded, destroying the tower and the Grunts.

Yang followed the arc of the grenade and guessed that the Rookie threw it. She walked along a small wall and looked if the way ahead was free. Blake and Buck just took out the last Brute, shooting him in the head.

"All clear, Captain. Let's move!"

Everyone met up at the street leading further out of the city and started to move down, past abandoned vehicles. "Where are we going, exactly?" Dare asked.

"There's a Highway leading out of the city," Yang explained.

"Can this thing move faster?" Buck asked, looking at Vergil, who was slowly following behind them.

"All the shooting. It's frightening." Dare said.

"I can understand that," Blake replied.

"Yeah, but I still want to get out of here before the Covenant finds us," Buck said.

They entered a building and came towards a lever inside an elevator. Yang pulled it, and the lift moved upwards, before opening up to the coastal highway. The air was dirty and red, and the water had a green tint to it, full of rubble and dead bodies.

The air vibrated, as a Covenant Cruiser flew over them, towards the water. Banshees followed it, like a swarm of bees behind their queen.

"When did _this_ happen?" Dare asked.

"They started showing up right before we went underground," Buck said.

"A whole damn fleet," Yang added, shivering slightly. "If I think about what _one_ ship was able to do."

"And you waited until now to tell me that?"

"Actually, they mentioned it when we met them." The Rookie pointed out.

Buck, however, took off his helmet. "Oh, I'm sorry, _I_ was a little busy. Making sure perfume over there didn't take a round and blow us all up."

"Hey, the Engineer didn't do anything to you," Yang said angrily.

"Eddie Buck, always thinking with his gun. You haven't changed one bit!"

"Guys? Seriously, this is not the time or place for this." Blake yelled but was swiftly ignored.

"Me? What about you? Oh, so full of big ONI secrets, couldn't even give a guy a yes or no answer!"

"That's not fair!"

"Oh, you got that right!"

Yang saw from the corner of her eye how the Engineer flew away, and it looked like he was sad. Or annoyed, it was hard to tell with those things. "Uhm..."

"I never thought I'd see you again!" Dare yelled.

"Yeah? Well... Here I am!" Buck proclaimed, pointing at himself.

All heads shot towards the sky, as another cruiser left Slipspace directly above the city.

"We need to move. Now." Dare snapped.

"Oh, done with your relationship problems?" Yang asked.

"Shut up. Where's our exit? Or were you too busy to plan that part?"

"I stole a Phantom. Yes. Thank you. I hid it in the shipyards down the highway, and there's a good LZ nearby." He nodded towards two empty Warthogs he and Yang brought here earlier. "I hope that thing knows how to behave in a Hog." Buck tried to point at the Engineer, only to realize that it was gone.

"The Engineer, where did it go?" Dare asked in a panic.

"Oh, so you noticed?" Blake asked, a little smug grin on her face.

Suddenly, a horn echoed across the street, and they looked towards an Olifant, a heavy garbage truck. A hatch at the top opened, and a blue tentacle came out. Vergil sounded the horn twice, making the appropriate gestures with his tentacle.

"Keep me covered, and try to keep up." Dare said, running towards the Olifant.

"Take my advice," Buck muttered, looking at Blake, Yang, and the Rookie. "If you ever fall for a woman, make sure she's got balls."

"Uhm... I'm not even gonna comment on that." Yang deadpanned.

"Wait... Does he think we're gay?" Blake replied.

"You two look pretty good together." The Rookie replied.

"Shut up," Yang said. "Rookie, you go on a Warthog with Bucky-"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Blake and I will take the other one."

Thus, they split up like Yang said. She started the engine and pressed her foot on the gas pedal. The Warthog moved, and she drove down the highway.

It didn't take long for a big group of Grunts to show up. The Unggoy concentrated their fire on the Olifant, making it easy for the two jeeps to take them down.

The way further down the highway was blocked by a big door. The Engineer opened it, and they passed through a little checkpoint. Plasma flew towards them as soon as they opened the other door, and they saw a couple of jackals who seemingly waited for them.

The Olifant resumed it's path though, and crushed one of the Kig-Yar under it, while Yang and the Rookie drove around the jackals, killing them. Suddenly, the Olifant erupted in a blue light.

"Whoa! What just happened?" Buck asked.

 _"I think the Engineer found a way to extend its shields, sent a current through the outer plating. I don't know how strong the shields are, so stay close!"_

"Don't worry! We've got you covered!"

They finished up the last Covenant forces on the road ahead and went into another checkpoint. The door opened seconds after the Olifant was inside, and revealed a lookout tower.

Green Rods were flying towards them, shot by the Grunt that was atop the construction. The Rookie and Yang quickly turned their jeeps around, dodging the projectiles just in time. They impacted on the road, turning the cement into a molten mess.

Blake and Buck shot the tower and destroyed it. The Grunt flew through the air, shot up by a leak in its tank, and directly off the road into the water. Suddenly, the air vibrated, as another CCS-Cruiser passed by above them.

"Another Cruiser!" Buck yelled out.

 _"They're all heading to the Slipspace Crater, the Covenant dig site north of the city."_ Dare explained.

"Dig Site? What the hell are they digging up with spaceships?" Yang asked in shock.

 _"I don't know."_ Dare replied. _"But whatever it is, it won't end well if they can get their hands on it."_

The Cruiser disappeared from view, followed by a swarm of Banshees. "We're doomed, aren't we?" Blake asked.

"Tsk. We still have a chance." Yang muttered. "If we can get Vergil out of this damn city, that is."

"How would you know?"

"Just a guess," Yang replied and drove off towards a group of Brutes. "If the Covenant is trying to kill him that fiercely, then he probably knows something."

"Fair point."

The door opened, and a swarm of Drones came out. They split up, half of them focusing on Yang and the other half on Buck. Blake thinned out the swarm, but one of the insects managed to land over the driver's seat.

Yang grabbed the Alien and rammed its head into the passenger's seat. The cracking of chitin was heard, and the dead Yanmee slid out of the car, while Blake finished up the last Buggers.

Another checkpoint opened, revealing the next part of the highway. A giant piece of debris was hanging over the road and was easily identifiable as a piece of the Space Tether.

Another Cruiser passed by, causing the whole highway to shake heavily. "Did someone count how many of those were here by now?" Yang asked.

 _"Two."_ Dare replied. _"But there are more at the dig site."_

"Why doesn't the Navy intervene?" Blake asked, shooting another Grunt that was hiding behind the wreckage of a Wraith.

 _"They are still busy with holding off the Covenant in orbit,"_ Veronica replied.

They went through another checkpoint, and a couple of Ghosts started to fire at them.

"Blake? Yang?" Buck asked. "Can you take two of them? We could use a bit more firepower."

"Affirmative," Yang replied and drove close to one of the scouting vehicles.

Blake jumped off the machine gun and kicked the Grunt out of his vehicle while sliding into the seat herself. It put a lot of strain on her muscles, but her Aura was still working on repressing the pain.

Yang rammed another Ghost and jumped out of her Warthog. She landed on the front of the Ghost and shot the Grunt with her M90. The Ghost slid over the ground for a few meters. Yang entered her new ride and opened fire upon the remaining two Ghosts.

One of the Ghosts got crushed by the moving Olifant, making it easy for the others to take out the last vehicle.

The next door opened, revealing an empty Warthog with a Gauss-turret on the back. Buck and Rookie took the new Warthog and shot a round into the wall to test out if it was still working.

The next part of the road was once again occupied by Ghosts, while a few Banshees flew around in the air. The Gauss turret made short work of the enemies, while Blake and Yang distracted them.

Suddenly, something came out of the water, crawling over the next checkpoint building. "Scarab!" Yang yelled into the comms.

 _"It hasn't seen us yet,"_ Buck replied. They watched as the behemoth slowly crawled into the city.

"Phew." Yang sighed. "I almost thought we had to go up against that thing."

 _"What was that?"_ Blake asked in shock.

"Oh, right. You probably haven't seen one yet. It's a Scarab. A big weapon platform. Got a lot of firepower. Plasma Beam, Infantry, Anti-Air. You name it."

 _"Damn..."_ Blake muttered.

The group drove into the next checkpoint and noticed a lone Scorpion Tank standing at the side. "Nice!" Yang yelled out. "I'm gonna take the tank!"

"No, you stay inside your Ghost," Buck commanded. "We'll take the tank."

"But why can't I-"

"Cause I don't trust you with a heavy weapon like that."

"Ugh. Fine. Dumb command chain." Yang pouted.

Using their newly acquired heavy weaponry, they fought past Shades and Banshees, until they saw something big in the sky. Yang looked at it, trying to make out the shape that was slowly crawling out of the clouds.

Her jaw dropped as she was finally able to make it out. Above them was a gigantic Covenant ship, bigger than anything she'd ever seen before, except maybe the personnel carrier of the Prophet, though she never got a good look at that one. She could only guess how long this thing was, seeing as its back was still covered by the clouds. Yang guessed five, or maybe six kilometers in length.

Phantoms passed by, snapping Yang out of it as Plasma hit the ground around them. They made their way along the road, as the water gave way to the Reserve.

Or rather what was left of it. It seemed like the bombings she heard about were a success. Nothing but burning debris was left of the artificial islands. Most of the wall that were keeping it safe from water had collapsed, and Yang was able to make out a faint, black fluid leaking into the water.

 _"It's charging it's excavation beam!"_ Dare yelled over the comms.

Yang looked at the Carrier and saw a bright glow at the bottom of its massive bulbous front. "But this isn't the dig site..."

They passed another set of gates, and the air around them suddenly exploded. It took her a minute to regain her senses, and she stared in shock at what she saw. A blue beam left out of the ship, directly into the city. Part of the skyline instantly melted as the heat of the beam turned their foundations into a muddy substance. Even here, a couple of kilometers away from the impact, the shockwave still caused glass to shatter and the air to heat up.

 _"Damn it, no! They're gonna burn this city and then glass the whole planet!"_ Buck yelled. _"Covenant Bastards! It's just like Reach all over again!"_

While Yang heard storied about glassing, and roughly knew the principal behind it, thanks to some Marines she talked too, hearing about it was completely different than actually experiencing it.

Yang quickly tried to get a hold of her comm. "Nora? Ren? Please tell me the Lz is clear."

She heard Nora coughing. _"Y-Yeah. We're clear. The Covenant stopped attacking us for some reason. You got Dare?"_

"Yes, her and Blake."

 _"Blake? Thank the gods she's safe."_ Ren replied.

"By the way, you saw that bigass ship too, right?"

 _"It's hard not to see that thing,"_ Nora said. _"Uhm, so... how long 'till you're here? I don't want to get any radiation poisoning from that beam."_

"We'll be there shortly." Yang closed her comms. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was weird. Why would the Covenant suddenly stop attacking? Sure, Nor was scary, especially if powered up, but the Covies had the advantage in numbers.

They followed the road, while the CAS-Assault carrier continued to glass New Mombasa in the distance.

Suddenly, another Scarab left the water and walked over the next checkpoint. This time, however, it stopped and turned to face them. "Scarab!" Yang yelled into her comms.

 _"We're going too fast, I can't stop!"_ Dare replied.

All of them stopped in shock, as the green beam left the front of the Scarab. It hit the Olifant, stopping it in its tracks. Metal melted and cracked until the beam stopped. The Scarab turned back towards the city and walked off.

 _"Veronica! Talk to me!"_ Buck yelled. Yang saw how he left the machine gun of his tank and ran towards the Olifant.

Dare coughed and opened the hatch on top of the truck. "The asset is all right."

"Screw the Alien, what about you?"

"I'm okay... but this garbage truck's had it."

"The LZ is just up ahead," Yang said. "I think the two of you can make it there by foot."

"Or they sit up on the tank," Buck added.

Vergil flew out of the Olifant and made his way towards the Scorpion. Dare climbed onto it and sat down on one of the threads. With the two on the tank, they made their way to the tunnel that led into the Zoo's courtyard.

The whole place was filled with Covenant corpses, and signs of massive battles were seen everywhere. Walls were cracked, a small structure in the middle collapsed and the windows of the entrance were shattered.

Nora and Ren waved from the top of a small staircase. They walked up to the two, and Blake instantly hugged them. "I'm so happy to see you two."

"We too," Nora said with a big smile.

"What happened here?" Dare asked.

"Covenant and Grimm," Ren replied. "It appears that this was one of the last places the Grimm were controlling. Luckily the Covies cleared them out before we came in."

"Where's the Phantom?" Blake asked.

"I'll call them. Wait a sec." Nora replied. "Mickey? Can you hear me? Buck and the others are here, you can get us out of this hellhole."

 _"Okay. Stand tight, I'm- Wait..."_

"What is it?" Nora asked.

 _"Something's coming towards you. Something big. It looks like... A Knight?"_

"A what-?" Nora was unable to finish her question, as a bloodcurdling scream echoed over the area. Birds that previously feasted on the corpses flew away in flocks, and some of the remaining glass started to shatter.

"No..." Ren whispered. The screech had apparently stolen his voice, as he slowly sunk to the ground.

"What was that?" Buck asked.

"It's that thing, isn't it?" Blake said and looked at the Rookie.

"I believe so. Get your weapons ready!"

"For wha-" Dare asked, but stopped as she saw the monster.

Two slim, armored hands grabbed the sides of a hole in the wall surrounding the courtyard and tore the stone apart. Through came a horse, it's sides and back covered by white bone-armor. It hung down like plates and left almost nothing of its already thick hide exposed.

On top of it sat a humanoid figure, seemingly merged with the horse. It had long arms, that it dragged behind it. The body of the monster was armored with heavy bone plates. Scratches spoke volumes about how many fights the Grimm had been through.

The head of the Grimm was kept safe by a helmet made out of bone. Two long horns extended from it, and two red eyes glow out of small gaps in it. A bit of black came out on top, almost looking like a small feather that some old soldiers had sticking out of their helmets.

If it weren't for the Grimm part, the thing would've almost looked like a medieval knight, or Samurai.

"What the hell is that thing?" Buck asked, raising his SMG. "Is that a Grimm?"

Yang noticed that Nora and Ren were looking at the creature in horror, and remembered a story Nora told once. Apparently, their home got destroyed by such a monster. However, they stated that it didn't seem too old.

She herself had heard bedtime stories about this type of Grimm. An ancient species, extraordinarily rare these days. But judging by the armor, and what she knew from Grimm Studies, this monster had to be a couple of centuries old.

"Lǎo qíshì," Blake muttered.

"What?" Nora asked, still in shock.

"One of the Ancients."

Yang closed her eyes. She had heard that term before. They were ancient, revered Grimm that had lived even longer than the kingdoms.

"It's one of them?" Ren replied. He looked over to Nora. "It's... It's not the one..."

"Still, I can't believe one of them appeared here."

"Why is it only looking at us though?" Dare replied.

"Grimm get more intelligent if they get older. One of that Age..." Blake explained. "I would be surprised if all of us combined had a higher prowess in combat than this thing."

"So why is it only watching?" Buck asked.

"It's assessing the situation." Blake guessed. "It isn't sure if we might be too strong."

Lǎo qíshì let out another terrifying screech and charged towards them. They all opened fire on the Grimm, while Vergil fled into the building.

Thier bullets bounced off the heavy armor, and it ran straight into the group. Ren and Nora managed to jump out of the way, while Blake seemingly staid.

She disappeared as soon as the horse headbutted her, and shot the side of the horse. However, her bullets were too weak, and the Grimm simply stretched out one of its arms.

"Seriously? And its weapons are noodle arms?" Buck asked.

Blake managed to dodge the attack just in time, and the claws dug into the asphalt. It quickly shot it's second arm towards Nora, grabbing her. She struggled to get out of its grasp and led her hammer down. Even though the restriction in her movement severely weakened the strike, it was enough for it to let her go.

Buck chucked a grenade under the monster. The resulting fireball caused it to stumble, and small flames licked on its armored sides. A bit of black blood came out from its belly, and it jumped back a bit.

"Looks like grenades work." Dare said. "Got any more?"

Buck shook his head and looked at the Rookie, who repeated the notion. "Yang? Nora?"

Both girls sighed. "I used up all my explosives on the Covenant," Nora explained.

"And I used mine on the way here."

"So what..." Ren stopped and turned towards the Grimm. "What's it doing?"

Yang looked at the monster and was just as surprised as Ren. It looked like the creature was... puking? Black goo escaped the mouth of the horse, forming a small, black pool on the ground.

"Maybe I blew up his digestive tract." Buck guessed. "Wait, do Grimm have those?"

"Something's happening," Blake said and pointed at the pool.

A claw came out, and only a second later, a Beowolf rose up from the liquid. And then another one. Eventually, three Beowolfs stood in a half-circle around the depleted pool.

"It can create Grimm?" Nora gasped.

"Is- Is that how Grimm are born?" Ren asked.

The Beowolf charged at them but were shot down quickly. Luckily they didn't inherit any of the intelligence of their 'father' and were rather weak due to being newly born. Said creature was staying in the back, watching them.

"It's watching us again..." Buck muttered. "Why?"

"I think I know." The Rookie said. "Our Bullets can't do anything against it. It knows that. But Nora still has her CQB, just like Yang, Blake, and Ren."

"So it tries to avoid harm by keeping its distance?" Nora asked. "Clever bastard."

Two arms shot towards them, digging into the pillars that kept up the small balcony above them. One pull later, and the balcony collapsed. They managed to avoid it just in time and heard Vergil letting out a fearful sound from inside.

It continued to barrage them with its arms, while the human forces tried to block the attacks. It only worked partially, as its palms were still unprotected.

Yang felt her Aura decreasing with every hit but noticed the little amounts of damage it did. This thing wasn't trying to simply kill them with force, it was trying to wear them down right now.

Suddenly, the attacks stopped. They looked at the monster and noticed that it was looking up. A Phantom was hovering over it.

"Mickey?!" Nora yelled in excitement.

"No, it's not," Ren replied as the sides opened.

Three Brutes, one of which was a Chieftain equipped with a Gravity Hammer, jumped out. The Phantom flew away, leaving its cargo alone.

"It's a Strike Team," Buck said. "Are they here to kill Vergil?"

"Then they chose a really bad time." Dare replied.

The two Brutes went in to attack, though, to their surprise, they concentrated on the Grimm. One of them got easily skewered by the Grimm. Yang guessed that it wasn't very concerned with them. Or it knew that Brutes got more dangerous the longer one fought them.

Either way, the other Brute tried to ram the blades of his Spiker into its throat. The blades only managed to pierce the armor minimally, and the horse bit down on the Brute, engulfing his whole upper body in its jaws, before snapping it into two and swallowing.

"I think I might have an idea," Nora said and pointed up a small staircase. "There were parked cars up there. If we manage to hijack one, we might be able to ram it into the monster."

"Will that kill it?" Dare asked.

"Likely not," Ren explained. "However, the explosion might be enough to tear away parts of its armor."

Yang looked back at the Grimm, which was engaged in a fight with the Chieftain. The Jiralhanae was actually putting up a good fight, using his Hammer to block attacks and dodge.

Hell, if he wasn't a Brute, she might've tried to team up with him to defeat this abomination. But from what she heard, it was hard to reason with those guys.

She followed Nora and Buck up the stairs, and they approached one of the cars. Nora and Yang pried open the door, and Yang looked at the wheel. "Yeah. It should work. I just need a key."

"Can't you hotwire it?" Nora asked.

"If it was five hundred years less advanced and a motorcycle, then yes. Maybe the guy it belonged to is still around somewhere?"

"We don't have time for that," Buck said and looked at the other vehicles. "There. That one still got someone inside." They walked up to a small van and opened the door. The driver had a giant wound on his torso, and it smelled like burned flesh, leaving no doubts at his cause of death.

Yang pulled his body out of the car and looked through his pockets. She found the keycard and slid it through the appropriate reader. The motor jumped to life, and Yang went in. "Am I aiming correctly?"

Buck looked over the railing and nodded. "Yeah."

"Wish me luck," Yang said and hit the gas. The van moved forwards and crashed through the railing.

The Nuckelavee, as well as the Chieftain, looked up at the oncoming vehicle. While the Jiralhanae managed to jump away, utilizing the gravity waves of his hammer to jump farther, Lǎo qíshì simply stood there frozen.

A second later, it managed to grab the van. It's claws stabbed through the windows, and glass shards filled the car. She fired her Shotgun at one of the fingers that came close to her, and it retreated in an instant.

She was able to see the world turn outside from one moment to the other, and realized too late that the monster had thrown her away. She almost puked as the world spun around her.

A second later, everything went black, as everything around her exploded.

* * *

"Yang!" Blake yelled and ran towards the car. It crashed into the entrance building, taking out a pillar on the way.

She approached the wreckage and pulled on the arm that was hanging out. It took her a good amount of strength, but she managed to pull Yang out. Blood was gushing out of her mouth and wounds all over her body.

Blake held her friend tighter. "Please... No..."

"Oh my god..." Nora gasped, as she came inside.

Blake was able to hear shooting from outside and hoped that the others were able to hold off the Nuckelavee long enough.

"Her back..."

Blake's eyes shot open, and she took a look. A giant metal pole had dug itself into Yang's back and almost came back out at the front. "No."

Nora ran towards her and kneeled down. She grabbed the pole and pulled it out with one quick motion. The bloody piece of metal got thrown aside, as Nora took a look at the wound. "It's deep. I- I think it pierced her lung."

Suddenly, someone else flew through the glass, and into the other pillar. Blake and Nora gasped and put a hand on their weapons as they saw the Brute Chieftain pulling himself back up.

The Jiralhanae looked at them but ran back out with his hammer. "Is... What?" Blake asked.

"I guess the Grimm is his priority." Nora guessed.

They heard a clicking noise and saw how Vergil slowly hovered towards them. The Huragok put two of his tentacles onto Yang and moved them over the wounds. "What's it doing?" Nora asked.

"I don't know," Blake asked. She watched as the Huragok led his tentacles to slide over the wounds, and how they slowly started to close. "It's... It's healing her."

"Can we leave her to you?" Blake asked, looking at Vergil. The Engineer nodded and purred. "Nora? Let's kill that Grimm."

Nora grinned and nodded. "Hell yeah."

The two went outside and looked at the battle going on in front of them. Ren and the Chieftain were engaging the Grimm at close range, while the ODSTs shot the creature from the distance.

"Why's the Chieftain fighting with us?" Nora asked.

"He said that this thing killed his whole pack. This is something personal for him." J.D. explained.

Nora jumped into the air, and held Magnhild over her head, ready to strike at the Grimm. It hit the back of the Horse, sending a gravity wave through the Grimm. It didn't kill it or even do any major damage thanks to the lack of vital organs in Grimm, but the sheer force of the attack was enough to startle the monster.

The rider turned around, and grabbed Nora's head, before throwing her into a nearby wall, knocking out her already damaged Aura.

"Nora!" Ren yelled and ran towards her, only to end up behind the horse. It kicked him, sending him flying into the same wall.

"Dammit, this thing's strong," Blake muttered through gritted teeth, as she shot at the Monster.

The bullets bounced off its armor, and she narrowly dodged another strike of its arm. She found herself next to the Brute, who was bleeding heavily.

Plasma suddenly erupted next to them, and the humming of an Anitgravitygenerator was heard. They looked up and saw a Phantom coming closer.

An ODST stood at the open bay, arming the Plasma Turret. "Cheers! The cavalry's here!"

"Mickey!" Buck yelled through the comms. "Thank god, you're here! We've got heavily wounded!"

The turrets of the Phantom were still aimed at the Grimm and shot again. Lǎo qíshì jumped to the side as the Plasma hit the ground next to him, melting the asphalt. Blake noticed burn marks on his side.

She quickly glanced back at the ODSTs and got an idea. "Hey." She snapped, looking at the Brute. "I know how we can take this thing down."

"Tell me, human. None of our attacks have any impact."

Blake pointed at the entrance. "We have to trap it in there. I think we can herd it in with the turret."

"I understand. Once it is trapped, it can be cleansed by the holy flame."

Blake nodded, hoping that this meant glassing. She activated her communication device, and put in the code she got from Buck earlier, while the Chieftain distracted the Nuckelavee. "Hello? This is Corporal Belladonna."

She heard rustling before a male voice came on. "Blake? This is Bailey. What the hell is that thing down there?"

"A Grimm. Listen, we can't beat it like that." Blake jumped over the arm of the monster, which was still concentrating on the Jiralhanae. "We need to herd it into that building, so the Covenant can glass it."

"Well, we have to hurry. There's a cruiser already en route."

"Okay. Use your weapons." Blake cut the connection, and nearly got hit by the Ancient.

The Brute countered a claw slash with his hammer, sending small chunks of bone into the air. Plasma hit the ground next to them, forcing the Grimm back.

Meanwhile, Dare, Buck, and the Rookie moved to the sides, helping the two to lure the enemy into the trap. It frantically tried to block the bullets with its arms, and occasionally lashed out towards the Brute and Blake.

It tried to run to the right, but rapid Plasma fire forced it into a line on that side, while the two blocked the left, blocking incoming attacks with their weapons.

Eventually, they reached the stairs and went up. The Grimm realized it's chance, and ran inside.

"Okay, now we only gotta-" Blake stopped, as she realized her mistake. "Yang!"

She ran inside and immediately spotted her friend lie at the pillar, with the Huragok still hovering over her. The Nuckelavee was standing in the back and started to puke out black goo again.

Several Creeps rose out of the pits and ran towards the blonde. Blake charged in, easily cutting the first Grimm in two with Gambol Shroud.

A second one jumped up but exploded into a mass of black smoke, as a massive hammer hit it. The Brute raised his weapon and crushed another Creep under it.

"Why are you helping us?" Blake asked.

"I went against the Prophet's orders. I will get executed no matter what. At least I can die in here, fighting that creature." He roared, and ran at the Grimm, while the two remaining Creeps ran towards Blake.

She kicked one of them away, while the other one tried to bite into her arm. She felt his teeth on her skin, and shot it straight into the head, killing it.

The other Creep got back up but died as bullets pierced his back. "Blake? Grab Yang and get out of here. The cruiser's coming." Dare said.

Blake looked back at the Brute and watched for a second as he traded blows with the Nuckelavee. A small smile crept onto her face, and she helped her friend up. The wounds had been partially healed, and the bleeding was stopped. Hopefully, she'd survive this.

The Huragok followed them outside, where the Phantom hovered slightly to the right. Ren and Nora were gone, most likely transported onto the ship already.

Everything shook, as a slipspace portal opened just over them. A CAS-class Assault Carrier jumped out and charged his glassing beam.

Blake ran towards the dropship as fast as possible and jumped into the Gravlift. Yang let out a small groan, as the lift eased the weight on her muscles.

Once inside, she put Yang down on a wall and sighed as they started moving. A quick look into the crowded room made her realize how much they had all fought this day. All of them had dirty, damaged clothes or armor, full of blood, either from humans or aliens.

"We did it," Nora whispered. She sat next to the mostly closed bay, next to Ren.

Buck ripped a bit of Drone chitin from his armor and crushed it in his hand. "Yeah, that was one hell of a night."

They all looked outside, as the ship started to shake. The carrier had begun his glassing of the zoo, luckily starting with the entrance. The bays closed fully to secure them from the radiation.

"We went through hell for that?" Romeo asked, pointing at the Huragok, who shook out of fear.

Buck looked at the Rookie. "Give him some meds, would ya?" J.D. shrugged and pulled a medkit from a small bag at the side. Buck turned back towards Romeo. "It's important. It knows things."

Romeo groaned as the Rookie put a syringe into his arm. "Heck, Gunny... I wasn't talking about the Alien."

"Mickey? Need a very special co-pilot?" Buck asked.

 _"Please. Penny isn't really helpful. All she does is trying to make loopings."_

Thus, Penny and Vergil changed positions, and the robot looked at Blake, before hugging her. "Blake!"

"Hey, Penny. Good that you're alive."

"Thank you very much." Penny looked at Yang and gasped. "Is she okay?"

"I don't-" Blake stopped, as blood started to flow out of Yang's mouth and nose. "Dammit!" She ran over to her friend, followed by Nora, Ren, Penny and the ODSTs.

"Ugh... Get away... you... you're one of them..."

"What is she muttering about?" Bailey asked.

"I have no idea," Blake replied. "Yang!"

"Ruby... Not you too..." Suddenly, Yang started to breathe rapidly, and her entire body shook.

"Dammit, she's having a shock!" Romeo said, and quickly pulled a couple of syringes out of a bag.

"But I thought Vergil..." Blake closed her eyes. "The lift... It must've re-opened the wounds."

"Mickey? We need to get to the next ship. Now!" Buck yelled into the cockpit.

"Yang. Stay with me! Yang!" Blake yelled, embracing the blonde in an even tighter hug. "Don't you die on me."

"Okay. Ready." Romeo said and rammed the infusions into Yang's veins. Her breath normalized, though the blood was still flowing.

"What did you give her?" Ren asked.

"Painkillers. Won't help with the wounds, but..."

"I got it. I think her Aura might kick in soon."

Yang spat blood, while Dutch pulled out a medical scanner. "Well... Can that stuff heal a punctured lung?"

"What?" Ren asked, confused about the diagnosis.

"Look." Dutch gave him the little machine.

Blake looked over his shoulder. "That's..."

"From the metal rod." Nora finished.

"We have to get help now. Aura can't heal this kind of injury." Blake replied. She slowly put Yang back down, while Penny started to apply biofoam to the body.

"Blake?" The Rookie asked.

"Yeah?"

"Look." He pointed out a narrow hole in the bay, and her eyes widened.

Dozens of Covenant ships were burning down the city. At least that's how it appeared at first. From this height, it became obvious that they were digging something up... Something big. And it looked like...

"Is that... Forerunner?" Blake whispered.

"What?" The Rookie replied.

"Nothing. What are you going to do now?" She hoped that he didn't notice her trying to change the topic. She was pretty sure that she wasn't allowed to talk about this stuff.

He shrugged. "Waiting for new orders. I'm sure the UNSC won't wait long. The whole planet is under attack, so there are many battles to be fought."

"You're right." Blake looked out once last time and turned back inside as soon as the clouds started to obstruct the view. A few black spots were visible, indicating some lone Grimm that were still around.

She saw Buck and Dare, who were talking with each other. "Win this war... then ask me again." Dare said and pressed a small control panel. The sides shut completely.

Blake slowly walked back to Yang and kneeled down. "Yang, please pull through. We almost made it."

* * *

 **And here we finally are, back again with Chapter 24. It took some time, due to the holidays and exams, but I finally finished it. I also had some troubles finding a satisfying conclusion to the ODST stuff, so that's also a reason. But I think it worked out well, even though the final part of Alpha Nine will be next Chapter, alongside the others onboard the In Amber Clad.**

 **Also, I feel like I should address the Nuckelavee and the whole 'Ancients' thing. It's a concept I thought about for a while and decided to put it in. The idea for it came to me while rewatching the RWBY WoR videos when Salem mentioned that Grimm get stronger with Age.**

 **However, I won't say much about the Ancients yet, as more will be explained next Chapter.**

 **Now to what I said I'd do at the end of each Campaign, give my short thoughts on it. I can definitely say that ODST is one of my favorite campaigns. The levels are rather short, but every level feels different. The setting is great, and the open world is beautiful and atmospheric.**

 **Now to replies:**

 **Tronmaster5704: They didn't learn about Noble Team yet, but they will during the time between Halo 3 and 4, due to meeting a certain Spartan-III.**

 **joshuaobryan549: Eh, the time constraints are only really on the last level of Halo CE and the last one of H3. It's actually a lot of fun unless it's the Library. However, I definitely wouldn't say the fifth one is bad per se. Sure, the story is... I'm just going to call it questionable, but the gameplay and level design are, in my opinion, a lot of fun. In the case of Cortana, it's still salvageable if they actually use the Logic Plague as an explanation.**  
 **That happened in my game too. I think it has to do with the Draugr fighting Ice Trolls or Werebears and accidentally hitting the dragon in the process. Definitely makes it a lot easier though, especially on higher difficulties.**

 **PhoenixClaw2128: Thanks, here it is.**

 **red october700: You have to collect all the Audio Logs in the open world to get it to happen. There are 29 in total, and the 30th one is in there.**

 **Mrwolffe: Well, it has to be somewhat planned in advance.**

 **ChronoHyperion: Yes, I realized that. Don't worry. About OCs, that's a bit of a problem. I already got some sent to me, and haven't been able to really put them in. So for now, I'm going to say no. But it might change later on.**

 **Guest: Nope, on Yang and the In Amber Clad.**

 **trninjakiller: Well, it was for the readers that aren't from Halo and thus might not know his name. Also, I definitely know my lore. Like I already said, I read every book and consumed just about every piece of Halo media, except one of the Issues of Escalation. (I also realized that you probably won't read this, but I still answered it for the sake of answering every Review.)**

 **Tincanman123: Sorry, but he'll still die the same way. It is supposed to be the main plot of one of the Chapters between H3 and 4, so I definitely won't ditch it. However, you won't see him die 'On-screen', if that helps.**  
 **Your idea is pretty good though.**

 **Kieran Johnson: Yeah, I realized that those two things don't make much sense. I'm definitely going to go back and change that scene a bit, thank you. About the weaponry, that's just so that they can still use their weapons. Like Ruby said, they are a part of them, so it would be a bit boring not to have them use theirs.**

 **Leader: ... Still got no idea**

 **Snake: No, I won't add a Jaune Harem. I don't like that clichè, and why would Jaune of all people even have one?**

 **pittsacee: Here you go.**

 **Guest: I will definitely do that.**

 **Hellwyrm: Yeah, an editor wouldn't be bad. The deviation will come more from now on, as the Grimm are starting to play a major part in the events.**

 **greenespeon1995: Here it is.**

 **ds hero: Yes, yes it was.**

 ** ** ** ** **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**********


	25. In Amber Clad

Chapter 25: In Amber Clad

 **Slipspace  
UNSC Stalwart-class light Fregade** _ **"In Amber Clad"**_ **, Cryo bay  
October 30; 2552**

Ruby frantically spat out the sour chemicals as she fell to the ground. Her whole body shivered from the freezing cold, and the puddle of puke in front of her only got bigger, as she barfed up what felt like her entire stomach.

Around her, more cryotubes opened up, and the female personnel of the ship stepped out. Everyone was naked, just like Ruby. Of course, she and Weiss were against it at first, but it the crew explained that any form of clothes could lead to their skin getting raw and blistered. Still, she could spot a few blisters on her skin, thanks to the chemicals used inside the tube. However, from what the crew said, those would go away in a few hours.

Something touched her back, and she looked up. Her joints hurt thanks to the freezer burn, another side effect of cryosleep. Weiss stood in front of her, her pale, white skin looking similar to the alloy the bay was made out of. It didn't have any blisters on it, and Ruby guessed that Weiss was used to cold climates from back home, though she could spot small, sparkling ice crystals in her hair. Maybe Weiss shouldn't have tried to wash her hair before going into the tube.

"Here, cover yourself," Weiss said, handing her a big towel.

"Thanks." Ruby took the piece of cloth and wrapped it around herself. "Phew. I hope I never have to do this crap again."

Weiss shrugged. "It wasn't too bad. Except for the whole naked part."

"Weiss..." Ruby muttered. "You're still naked."

Weiss looked down at herself, realizing her mistake. Her cheeks became slightly red. "Oh crap!" She quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around. "Much better."

"Heh..."

"What is it?"

"I still got bigger-"

"Shut up." Weiss snapped and slapped Ruby hard enough to throw her onto the metal floor. "Seriously, it's apparent that you had Yang around you for years."

"Ouch." Ruby rubbed her head and stood back up. "By the way, did you dream something?"

"Just the usual," Weiss replied. They started to walk towards the lockers. "How I save my Corporation, restore my family name, and you getting hurt."

"Hey!"

"Listen, we might be friends, but you're still... how should I put it? Annoying."

"I'm not annoying!" Ruby yelled. Several heads turned towards them.

"You jumped onto my desk and splashed like a fish on land because I wasn't able to play with you," Weiss replied, stemming her hands onto her hips.

"Sorry." Ruby opened one of the lockers and pulled out her normal outfit. "Also, I dreamed nothing. Thank you very much."

"Nothing? That's weird. Yang said you were a vivid dreamer." Weiss put on her dress in what looked like not even a second, leaving Ruby perplexed for a second.

"Y- Yeah. Normally. Maybe it's the medicine. Or the cold." Ruby tightened her cape and nodded after making sure everything sat correctly. "Welp, I'm done. Time to catch a-" She stopped, as her view fell onto the calendar hanging on the wall. "Weiss?"

"Yes?"

"It's October 30th."

"And?"

"You realize what that means?" Ruby asked in pure excitement.

"Uhm... That tomorrow is Halloween?"

"Nope."

"That Remnant has the same amount of days, hours, months as this world, and even the same name for them?"

"Well, yeah, that's weird. But not what I meant! Tomorrow's my birthday!"

"Oh, dear gods no," Weiss replied annoyed.

"What? You're not happy for me?" Ruby put her arm around Weiss' shoulders. "After all, this might be your first time visiting the birthday party of your BFF."

"Okay, first off, you're _not_ my BFF. Second, we're on a military spaceship, coming out of one of the biggest battles in our lives, only to go into the next while leaving a reality that consists of ten dimensions. I don't think you'll even have much of a party."

"Come on, we'll have a great party." Pyrrha intervened. It looked like she was the last one the exit her cryopod, and only had her underwear and the clothes she normally wore under her armor.

"Seriously? We can't spend any time on trivial stuff like that." Weiss yelled.

"Weiss? Are you okay?" Ruby asked. "You seem a bit on edge."

She sighed and put her hand to her forehead. "Sorry. I think the cryosleep got a bit on my nerves. Maybe it's best to grab a bite to eat."

"Yeah. I'm hungry too. I hope they have cookies. Or strawberries. Or strawberry cookies." Ruby squealed and dragged her partner out of the cryobay, despite her desperate pleas.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Orbit around Earth  
Quito Space Tether, Crimson Wing, Med Bay  
October 28; 2552**

Yang slowly opened her eyes, and immediately looked around. The first thing she saw was the white ceiling. Then multiple tubes, going directly into her arms. A small screen next to her showed what she presumed to be her heartbeat, as well as other medical details.

The girl tried to sit up and felt as if a heavy dumbbell was sitting right inside her chest. The room she was in seemed to be rather small, only containing the bed she was in, a small cupboard with medical equipment and a screen that was probably used to explain complicated issues to the patient.

"Ugh, my head hurts." She muttered to herself. Yang looked around and saw a small device next to her. She picked it up and guessed that this was to call the doctor or something. At least there were some things similar to home.

Mere seconds after pushing the button, the door opened with a hiss. A doctor came in, wearing a long, white coat with the symbol of ONI on the chest. "Glad that you're awake, Ms. Xiao-Long."

"How long was I out?"

"A week."

"That long? How?"

"Well, see that?" The doctor put his datapad on a medical table, and the screen showed a Xray of Yang's chest. "During the battle of New Mombasa, a metal pole impaled you through the lung. That alone wouldn't have been much of a problem to heal, but the gravity lift your friends used to escape opened the wound up even more."

"So...?"

"So you're entire lung filled with blood, popping most of your alveolus. Honestly, you're lucky that Vergil and your friends immediately helped you."

"Yeah," Yang muttered, still trying to figure out what an alveolus was. "But it's healed now, right?"

"Yes and no. We had to give you a new lung. It's mostly organic though, but your Aura gave us some problems with the implantation process." He explained. "All in all, you should be able to walk around again tomorrow. And maybe in two or three days, you can go back into battle."

That was right. She almost forgot that part. "How is the battle going?"

"Maybe it's better if your friend explains that to you." He pressed a little device in his ear. "Sergeant Belladonna? You can come in."

The door opened once again, revealing a clearly happy Blake. The Faunus ran in, directly to Yang's bed. She hugged Yang and sat down on a chair next to the bed. "I'm so happy you're alive!"

"Yeah, it's okay Kitty."

"And you ruined it," Blake replied, standing back up.

"I'm going to come back later." The doctor stated. The girls nodded, and he left the room.

"So... Thanks for saving me."

"Hey, we're partners. Was I supposed to let you die there?"

Yang laughed. "Right. So how is it going on Earth? And where are we?"

"We're on a Space Tether, one that ONI appropriated," Blake explained. "As for Earth, it's bad. The Covenant breached most of our defenses."

"So Earth's lost? Fucking great."

"Not really," Blake said. "They are concentrating their forces on New Mombasa. Or rather... what's left of it... They're digging up something big, maybe Forerunner in origin."

"Ugh, we aren't going to get away from those guys, are we?"

"Doesn't look like it. Other than that, they mostly attacked Military bases, though Antarctica and some other bigger cities got hit as well. Then there's the other problem. While we managed to destroy Lao qishi, it didn't do much in the long run."

"Let me guess, there are still Grimm around?"

"Yeah. It looks like the ones that sped off from Africa somehow created new hives. While the Grimm aren't that strong yet, it looks like all the negative emotions of both humans and Covenant are putting them into some kind of ecstatic state."

"So the Grimm are overrunning Earth?"

"In a way. We're still able to hold them off in a lot of places, but some of the more open cities have been attacked without stop."

"That's just great. And what about you guys?"

"Oh, we have been deployed from time to time."

"I guessed that. He called you a Sergeant, didn't he?"

Blake nodded. "We got promoted after New Mombasa. Oh, and you might want to look at your arm."

"Huh?" Yang rolled up the sleeve of her hospital garment and noticed a black symbol on her upper arm. "What the? Is that a tattoo?"

"Exactly. You, me, Nora, Ren and even Penny got one." Blake rolled up her sleeve, revealing the same tattoo. "The guys of Alpha-Nine suggested it. Honestly, it was mostly Nora who pushed us into doing it, but I think it's pretty cool."

"What does it mean?"

"It's something called a kanji, a form of writing used by some human cultures in this world. This particular one means as much as badass, or bastard. It's a form of appreciation from ODSTs."

Yang rolled her sleeve back down, silently appreciating the gesture. "And what battles did you partake in?"

"Well, for one, we had to secure some data in Essen."

"I have literally no idea where this is."

"Europe. Germany, to be precise. Beweglichkeitsrüstungssysteme called ONI for it."

"What's so important there?"

"They produce MJOLNIR armor. You know, what the Chief's wearing. ONI definitely wants to keep those from the Covenant. Then there was a small operation in Indonesia against a nest of Grimm, and a bigger battle in Seoul, once again to secure some data."

"ONI just loves their data, don't they?"

"Still, we were dumb."

"Huh?"

"We thought that we could do anything in this war, after what happened on Halo. But that was nothing. The Covenant is far too strong, even with the few ships they got here."

"Of course. Did you really think we'd just beat the Covenant like a group of Beowolf?" Yang asked, receiving a small nod from Blake.

"Sorry. I'm just... I'm just a bit tired. I haven't gotten much sleep." Balke sighed. "By the way, I wanted to ask you something. When we fled from New Mombasa, you were muttering something in your sleep..."

"Oh, that was nothing. Just a bad dream is all." Yang said. Sure, she could mention what she was dreaming, but she didn't want to make Blake worry. The parasite was wiped out anyways.

* * *

 **Slipspace  
UNSC Stalwart-class light Fregade** _ **"In Amber Clad"**_ **, Training Room  
October 30; 2552**

"Okay, widen your stance," Pyrrha said, looking at Jaune. Both were in the middle of a sparring match, their blades ready to clash.

"Got it." Jaune did just as his friend said, and widened his stand. "And no-" He couldn't even react, as Milo crashed into his chest plate. All the air left his lungs, but he managed to keep standing. At least until Pyrrha's shield hit his tight, throwing him onto the ground. "Ouch."

"You still got a ways to go, Jaune." Pyrrha laughed.

"Y-Yeah. It's just the... The cryosleep affecting me. Yeah, that's it."

"Right," Pyrrha said, rolling her eyes. She helped him up. "When you want to fight the Covenant head on, then you gotta keep training."

"She's right, boy. Excuses won't help you if a Brute is 'bout to tear you apart."

Both followed the voice and saw Johnson entering the room. "Sergeant!" Both instantly saluted.

"Good mornin'. I hope your first cryosleep went well?"

"It was... different," Jaune replied. "Here to train?"

"Nah, I just wanted to see if the two of you are good." Johnson pulled out a cigar from his pocket, lit it, and put it into his mouth. "Cryo can get on your nerves real quick if you ain't used to it."

"I'm okay. Jaune seems to still be a bit frozen, but other than that..." Pyrrha muttered.

"By the way, I wanted to ask you somethin'," Johnson said and pointed at Crocea Mors. "That sword of yours, why do you have it?"

"Because it's my weapon?" Jaune replied, unsure what to say.

"Yeah, I got that. But all your friends got fancy transforming weapons. You got a normal sword."

"Well, it was an heirloom," Jaune explained. "My dad gave it to me the day I left for Beacon." He let out a small laughter. "He didn't think I'd make it very far since I never went to a combat school. And now look at me. Regarded by the military of another dimension as an important asset."

"You didn't have any prior training? That's pretty bold to enroll in a combat academy then."

"He even had to fake his papers," Pyrrha said with a smirk.

"Pyrrha, you're not helping me. Anyways, It was my dream to become a Huntsmen. My dad was a hero, his dad was a hero, and so on..."

"They were Huntsmen?"

"Well, my granddad was something similar. I mean, the term Huntsmen didn't exactly exist back then. My dad, on the other hand, lived at home."

"Wait, really?" Pyrrha replied confused. "You always said he was a hero."

"For me he was. See, we lived in a small town near Vale. As you know, Towns outside of the large cities are almost always under attack by the Grimm. Now, our home was located between a couple of mountains, so it was pretty safe. Still, we had a militia that fought if Grimm found their way in."

"And your dad was part of that militia?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah, he and my oldest sister." Jaune finished. "I miss them."

"Hey, you still got your whole life in front of you," Johnson said, patting him on the back. "And while you might not become a Huntsmen, you can still go into other careers. Was there anything else that interested you as a kid?"

"Well, yeah. Like, I always loved comics. Making those would be pretty cool." He smiled, as he thought back to his early childhood. "In elementary school, I used to draw small comics for our school magazine."

"See? If you have a goal, you simply have to work towards it." Pyrrha replied. "At least you have one. I have no idea what I can do. I always knew that I would get to be a Huntress."

"For now, you two should concentrate on winning this war. And if we're lucky, it won't last very long."

"What? How can you be so sure?"

"Boy, I've been in enough battles to know when one comes to an end. It's the same with wars. There's a tension in the air. Either we win now, or we have lost. Be lucky that we won't have to deal with that damn Flood anymore." Leaving his words hanging in the air, Johnson left the room, his cigar in his mouth.

"Well, want to continue?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune nodded. "Sure."

* * *

 **Sol-System, Orbit around Earth  
Quito Space Tether, Crimson Wing, Mess Hall  
October 29; 2552**

Blake sat in the dining hall, eating lunch. There was a surprisingly low amount of people here, and she guessed that was due to most of the people here being scientists, who preferred to eat instant meals in their laboratories.

She herself had some fish, her favorite food, and a welcome change to the food she ate on missions.

"Hey, Blake." She looked up from her food and saw the Rookie. He held a plate in his hands. "Can I sit down?"

"Sure." He pulled the chair back and sat down across from the Faunus.

"How is Yang doing?"

"She's doing well," Blake responded. "Actually, she should even be able to walk around again."

"That's great."

"By the way, did they send Alpha-Nine on any missions?"

The Rookie shook his head, before putting a piece of potato into his mouth. "They want us here to help with Vergil."

"Really? I thought they'd get the Engineer we found to help."

"Apparently he's stuck somewhere on Mars." The Rookie replied. "So... I wanted to ask you something..."

"Go ahead."

"It's about the Grimm. Back in New Mombasa, you mentioned the Ancients. What exactly is the deal with them?"

"To make it short, there are legendary Grimm back on Remnant, said to be the oldest ones alive. Lao quishi was one of them, though there are said to be twelve in total, depending on who you ask."

"And what are the others?"

"I can't say. I only remember them from children's books. All of them were thought to be legends, but I'm not so sure about that anymore. The only one I remember besides Lao quishi is Skipets djevel."

"Sounds like something from Norway..."

"Well, it's a Grimm that's said to live under Solitas. Well, maybe I should explain that Solitas is the most northern continent of Remnant. It's mostly covered by Ice, and while the southern parts of the continent have land under the ice, the northern parts are simply frozen ocean."

"And what is it like? The Grimm I mean?"

"According to the legends, it's a giant snake. Big enough to eat a modern cargo ship. Luckily, it might be trapped forever, thanks to the ice." She let out a short laugh. "If you trust old legends than this thing is actually supposed to bring about the end of the world by eating it. Ridiculous, but interesting nonetheless."

"I... I just hope nothing like that ever appears here."

"Definitely. We have enough problems as it is. And it's not like we can just bombard the Grimm whenever we see them." Blake took a sip of her juice. "By the way, what are you going to do? If we win the war and all?"

"I don't know yet. I'll take it as it comes. You?"

"I have no idea either. For now, I just want to survive. I think I'll just roll with whatever my teammates are doing."

"You seem a bit... sad?"

"Well, it's hard for me. I'm one of two Faunus in this world. I'm, like, an endangered species. And the other one would probably try to kill me." Blake's eyes shot open. "That's it, maybe I can track him down!"

"But Buck said..."

"Yeah, that he might not have survived the battle of New Mombasa, but if he did, then I have to make sure he doesn't do anything."

"I think ONI'd help you with that."

"Yeah... Sure." Blake silently went back to eating, sunken into thoughts. What should she do? As the only member of her species? Or at least the only one that wasn't trying to murder her and her friends.

* * *

 **Slipspace  
UNSC Stalwart-class light Fregade** _ **"In Amber Clad"**_ **, Hallways  
October 31; 2552**

Weiss had just woken up. She still wasn't used to the uncomfortable beds aboard a spaceship, but then again, that was what cryosleep was for. Currently, she was on the way to the hangar.

One thing that interested her most about this world were the spaceships, especially navigation. Thus, she asked if the pilots on board could teach her a thing or two about controlling a Pelican. Though they were reluctant at first, she won them over after mentioning that she knew how to operate a Bullhead back home.

Sometimes, the special education she got as a Schnee was really useful.

However, that endeavor soon got interrupted, as a high voice echoed through the halls. "WEISS!"

The heiress saw a red blur flying towards her, and thus swiftly stopped the living projectile. She created a glyph, which Ruby immediately crashed into. She slowly slid down and instantly shot up again. "Hey, Weiss!"

"Ruby? Are you okay? You seem a bit... more excited than... Wait, today's your birthday."

Ruby nodded with a wide smile on her face. "That and Halloween."

"Sorry, I totally forgot."

"I told you yesterday..." Ruby replied with a long sigh.

"Yeah, but I got a couple of other things on my mind right now. Sorry that I don't have a present."

"Ah, don't worry. I mean, I have no idea where you could get anything in here anyway. Thus, I thought of something different."

"Which'd be?" Weiss replied, a bit scared.

"We're going to go trick or treating!" Ruby said and pulled out two costumes.

"You want to go trick or treating... on a spaceship?"

"Huh, I thought you'd be more concerned about going in the first place. Never took you for the type to go trick or treating."

"Well, I never was as a kid. Dad didn't let me. The only glimpse I got of it, besides TV-shows, was through people knocking on our door."

"You actually gave out candy?"

"Not really. Dad always bought that cheap stuff no one likes. And in addition, he gave Dust brochures and taste samples. Either that or he sent the guard dogs."

"Guard dogs?" Ruby asked in shock.

"Yeah, for some reason he got angry when he saw people wearing costumes with mustaches. He is really protective of his..."

Ruby wrapped an arm around her partner's shoulders. "Trust me, you'll love it. You get candy, can prank people if they don't give you anything. And best of all, I got our costumes in partner-look."

"Oh dear..." Weiss stuttered. "Wait, where did you even get costumes?"

"That's a secret. Now let's go change!" Ruby grabbed Weiss' arm in a surprisingly strong grip and dragged her off into her room.

Only a few minutes later, and both left the room in their new costumes. Weiss found them... less than appealing.

However, she had to admit, they were well crafted. She took a look at Ruby and realized that, if she didn't know that it was a costume, she would've mistaken Ruby for an actual Spartan.

"Come on now, let's get some birthday candy!" She grabbed Weiss' arm once again and dragged her away.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Orbit around Eart  
Quito Space Tether, Crimson Wing, Makeshift Armory  
October 31; 2552**

"I hope Ruby has a good birthday..." Yang muttered putting her M90 back on a weapon rack. She stretched herself, feeling the pain from the area where a bolt of plasma hit her on the arm earlier.

"It's a shame she has to spend it like that..." Nora replied.

"Well, she always loved her birthday. And Halloween." Yang explained. "So, yeah. You're right."

"Ugh, that was a pain." Blake groaned, stepping into the room.

"Eh, we still had a successful mission." Yang shrugged. "ONI was really intent on getting that data though."

"Why even? From what I understood, that section of Materials Group only made mechas for industrial use..." Nora said.

"Apparently it's somewhat connected to Aura research," Ren explained.

"And how'd you know?"

"ONI asked me about Aura. They mentioned that they are working on something. And they needed that data for it..."

"And they can't send any Marines?" Nora replied, definitely annoyed.

"Well, every Marine and every soldier of the other corps is currently down there, trying to hold key positions." Dare said as she entered the room. "Good work down there."

"Seriously, I hope this will be over soon. I don't think I can take that much more." Yang muttered.

"Good for you. The war will definitely end soon. One way or another." Blake replied. "Dare? Why are you here?"

"The eggheads want to see you. Something about your Aura."

The four huntsmen looked at each other, confused as to what this was all about. Sure, they had continued to look into Aura and Semblance, with the help of Penny, but that was pretty fast.

* * *

 **Slipspace  
UNSC Stalwart-class light Fregade** _ **"In Amber Clad"**_ **, Hallways  
October 31; 2552**

"Trick or treat!" Ruby yelled after one of the engineers opened the door of his cabin. He looked at them for a second and went back inside. "Oh man, this isn't going well. This was, like, the third door we knocked on."

"I would be surprised if they have any sweets on this ship," Weiss replied. "Why not just give up and throw a small party."

"Weiss! We can't just give up. You just have to believe that we can do this!"

"Believe? What?"

"Yeah, just believe in the Me that believes in you!" Ruby said, crossing her arms.

"You got that from a series, didn't you?"

Ruby sighed and led her arms down. "Yeah. Still, we never gave up, didn't we? And we fought Grimm. We fought the Covenant. We fought the Flood. Finding a bit of candy shouldn't be that hard."

They heard steps in the hallway and saw Johnson coming towards them. He stopped in his tracks, obviously surprised and confused. "Well, would ya look at that. We got ourselves two new Spartans."

"You do know it's us, right?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, not hard to guess. What exactly are you doing?"

"Trick or treating," Ruby explained. "I mean, it's Halloween, isn't it?"

"That's true, but we're also on a spaceship in Slipspace. We don't have any candy here. You should go train or somethin'."

"But... It's my birthday." Ruby said, putting on her biggest puppy eyes. "I... I just want to do something..."

"That's fine, just try to throw a small dinner party with your friends. That's all we can do here. I mean, it's not unusual to actually celebrate at a later time, isn't it?"

Ruby shrugged. "Right. I'm gonna go search for Pyrrha and Jaune. Maybe we can organize a small something."

* * *

 **Sol-System, Orbit around Eart  
Quito Space Tether, Crimson Wing, Aura Research Center  
October 31; 2552**

"You called us here?" Yang asked immediately after opening the door into the science lab. If one could even call it that. It was mostly just a small room with a bed and a few machines that were transported here from other laboratories.

"Ah, you're here. Good." The scientist replied.

"Hey, guys!" Penny greeted, sitting on the bed.

"Hi. Now, what is this about?"

"We studied your robotic friend here." He started. "And, I have to admit, I didn't expect a breakthrough this early."

"Breakthrough?" Ren asked.

"We're not exactly sure yet, but we think we managed to grasp the essentials of Aura."

"Wait, are you saying you know what it is?" Nora asked. "That's awesome! How did you manage to do that?"

"It all comes down to having enough resources. From what Miss Polendina told me, Remnant seems to be somewhat advanced, but not as far as we are. And even your people just recently started to look at Aura from a scientific standpoint. I believe it might be due to your culture being based on Aura that you took so long. We don't have that bias though."

"Yeah, Yeah. Just cut to the chase. What is Aura?" Blake asked.

"Essentially, it's a form of energy. Just like electrical or nuclear energy. It seems to flow through your bodies, originating in your brains. It's rather interesting. Luckily, Miss Xiao-Long's surgery also gave us some insight into your biology."

"And?"

"And we officially designated you as Homo Fortis."

"Wait, do you mean..."

"You're not human. At least not in our sense of the word. Sure, it is observed that people in the colonies tend to be a bit different in their muscle and bone structure, but not to such a high degree as you."

"Okay, I can deal with that..." Ren said. "However, I would like to know what differentiates us."

"I was about to get to that." He opened up a holographic projection, showing an X-Ray of Yang. "If we approach this from your DNA, then it looks like you got a lot of similarities with early humans. That could mean that, somehow, both our species share a common ancestor. We have no idea how, but it is possible. Millennia of evolution has led to a couple of interesting changes." The projection highlighted the bones in Yang's body.

"First off, your bone structure is denser and harder. Combined with your stronger muscles, it's easy to assume that an average Homo Fortis is generally stronger than an average Homo Sapiens. We guess this is due to your continued struggle against the Creatures of Grimm, or a generally harsher environment. But the really interesting part comes in the brain."

The projection zoomed in on Yang's brain, highlighting different areas. "Like I said, your Aura is stemming from your brain. You have more regions than Homo Sapiens. At least one of them is connected to the production of Aura. Seeing as Semblance is connected with Aura, that might explain why Semblance is somewhat resembling the user's personality."

"And how does it work?" Ren asked. "I mean, how can that basically alter reality?"

"We don't know that yet. We'd have to do field studies for that. But, we know one thing. That, if we manage to reproduce that part of the brain, and insert it into our soldiers, we might be able to recreate the effect in Homo Sapiens. Obviously, that will take some time though."

"You want to make a weirdly mixed species? That's unethical." Blake said a bit angered.

"Calm down, it's just a thought experiment. We aren't exactly sure yet. You once mentioned that animals also have Aura, and if it really is connected to the brain, then this could mean drastic changes in the theory of evolution, at least concerning your homeworld. However, we managed to have another breakthrough."

"Which would be?"

"Well, like I said, we have analyzed Miss Polendina. We believe that we can manage to, just like any other form of energy, sent it through machines. Maybe we can build a suit of armor that can be powered by Aura."

"Yeah, that would be pretty cool," Nora said excitedly.

"And I got more good news for you. Thanks to the Dust Samples Miss Schnee gave us, we managed to find the reason as to why it doesn't work outside your atmosphere."

"Wait, really? Why?!" Yang asked. She seemed excited to be able to use her Gauntlets again.

"The vials that contained the samples still had the air of your homeworld sealed inside. Thanks to that, we were able to find the reason. And, I have to admit, it's rather simple. Dust reacts with q certain element contained within your atmosphere, one that's extremely rare on planets here."

"Wait, that's it? Then we could've easily gone to space." Yang said. "Dammit, why didn't we think of that?"

"Well, it's possible your people never really thought of it. We also found that the molecular structure of Dust shares a striking resemblance to the material the Covenant uses in their Needlers."

"Seriously? So it's that purple, explody stuff?" Nora replied. "So can we get Needlers and make our forms of Dust out of them?"

"Not really. If a Needler would land in Remnant, then the Needles would no doubt be called a form of Dust. Just like Fire Dust, or Ice Dust."

"Wait, let me get this straight..." Yang said. "You're telling me that Needler Ammo is a form of Dust?"

"Exactly. We believe that the reason that it works outside of Remnant lies in how the Covenant processes the Blamite and send it through their Needlers."

"Can we replicate that process?" Yang asked. "I mean, we got the Huragok on our side. They should know how to do that."

"It's not that easy. Even the Huragok don't seem to know the intricate work that goes into processing Blamite. At least not the one you brought along from Alpha Halo."

"What about Vergil?" Penny asked.

"He hasn't talked yet, but that's not your concern." He replied.

"So there's, like, one source of Dust in this world?"

"Not necessarily. Scans of a planet orbiting a red star have shown similar structures."

"Why don't we mine it then?"

"Because it's inaccessible to us. That planet is a pure water world, with kilometer deep oceans. If that wasn't enough to prevent any exploration, the wildlife is even worse. However, we know that the planet is one of the oldest planets known to us, so we have the theory that Dust might be a resource that was more common many billions of years ago until it somehow disappeared for the most part. Remnant, being in another dimension, would explain the abundance of the resource in your world."

"But wouldn't that mean that our worlds were once one and the same?"

"That's beyond what we can determine right now. Even in this day and age, interdimensional research is hard to conduct. Especially in the middle of a war like this."

"So, in a nutshell, Aura is simply a form of energy?" Yang asked.

"Exactly. That was all I wanted to talk to you about for now. You just came from a mission, right?"

"Yeah," Nora replied. "Why?"

"You should get some rest now. I'm pretty sure ONI will have more missions for you soon."

"Ugh, fine," Yang said, exhausted thanks to the back to back mission over the last days.

* * *

 **Slipspace  
UNSC Stalwart-class light Fregade** _ **"In Amber Clad"**_ **, Mess Hall  
October 31; 2552**

"Happy birthday!" Pyrrha cheered, while Ruby cut into her cake.

"Thanks." She replied with a smile and bit into her baked goods. Sure, it didn't taste like it was fresh, but a frozen cake was better than nothing, though she was still surprised that the ship had these.

"Honestly, I'm impressed," Weiss muttered. "I didn't actually think we would be able to make this."

"Everything's possible with a little determination," Ruby replied.

"Well, now that everyone's here..." Jaune started, looking at all the guests. Of course, all of the Remnants were here, along with Johnson, who was surprisingly easy to get on board with the promise of cigars, and some of the engineers that came thanks to the cake. "Has anyone seen my towel?"

"Towel?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah. For some reason, all the towels inside my cabin are gone..."

"Well, yeah. That's a real mystery..." Pyrrha replied with an awkward laugh.

Johnson simply sighed at that and left. "Ain't got time to deal with that."

"Jaune... I'm sure they're in good hands..." Ruby muttered, moving her chair a bit away from Pyrrha, while keeping an eye on her.

"I think I'll just put in a request for more..."

"That won't be necessary." They all looked towards the entrance and saw Keyes standing in the doorway.

"Captain!"

"Why're you here? I thought they'd need you on the bridge?" Weiss asked.

"I put the _In Amber Clad_ in the hands of Cortana for now. I heard what was going on here, and wanted to wish you a good birthday."

"Thanks," Ruby replied, shaking her hand. "By the way, do you think the Chief will come too?"

"Definitely not," Miranda replied.

"Why not? I sent him an invitation." Ruby said in a sad tone.

"Invitation? When did you write them?" Weiss asked.

"Secret."

"I think you're forgetting that the Chief is a Spartan," Keyes explained. "They're strict supersoldiers. They don't show much emotion, and much less do they want to attend this kind of celebration."

"Oh man. And I thought we were friends..." Ruby stuttered.

"Well, you're probably as close to being friends with a Spartan as one could hope to get," Miranda replied.

"Captain?" Jaune interrupted. "What exactly did you mean with 'That won't be necessary'?"

"We'll leave Slipspace in 48 hours. You should get ready for a tough battle, we don't know what the Covenant is heading towards."

They all looked at each other with concern on their faces, and Ruby gulped down her cake. It was at that moment that the realization dawned on them. The Prophet fled from Earth, so there was a good possibility for more ships to be on the other side. And that was something their little ship couldn't deal with.

"Great. Ruined the mood." Ruby growled.

* * *

 **Lambda Aurigae System, Roost  
Security Bunker under Arila, Briefing Room**

 **November 1; 2552**

It had been two weeks. Two long weeks, since it began. Back then, it was a normal day on the colony of Roost, as colony primarily living from tourism and fishing. Of course, tourism and the general mood was a bit down when the news of Reach being glassed reached them, but they tried to continue their lives as normal as possible.

Until it happened. The day that changed everything. From one minute to the other, strange, black creatures started to appear on the planet. They attacked the human population mercilessly, like animals, though still coordinated.

The news of villages and towns being ravaged and slaughtered by those monsters quickly caused a panic, and even more, monsters appeared, until the capital was under attack.

Normally, the UNSC would've stepped in, using their ships to aid from Orbit and pushed the enemies back. However, shortly before the attack started, the UEG called in all available ships to help defend Earth, leaving Roost defenseless, and without a way to effectively evacuate the citizens.

"We have to fight back!" Aiden Kai said, hitting the table. "Those are just dumb animals. We have guns and vehicles. We can push them back!"

"It's not that easy, Governor." Littner, the Minister of Intelligence, replied. "These monsters are acting coordinated, at least the bigger ones do. And even then, those things are awfully resistant." He pulled up a feed of the southern part of the capital, which fell just a few days ago. It showed a giant black bird, crashing through a building and coming out unscathed. The sky was full of smaller monsters, constantly diving down to kill humans on the surface.

"He's right." Amanda, the leader of the local militia stated. Her left arm was missing, courtesy of one of the wolves. "The smaller ones go down easily. But the big ones... I've seen those bears shrug off small explosions and medium rounds."

"Then use bigger ones!" The Governor replied.

"Impossible. Our armory is completely overrun, and all possible supply lines are cut off."

"Dammit. We're losing this fight, aren't we?"

"If there isn't any help coming soon, then yes," Littner muttered. "Speaking of which, we received word from the next colony."

"And? Can they send help?"

"You won't believe it, but they are getting overrun too. Seems like Roost isn't the only planet under attack."

"Why?" Aiden asked. "Why can't we beat those things?"

"We're too spread out," Amanda replied. "Most of our resources come from facilities scattered over the planet. Those things use numbers to overwhelm us, a tactic incredibly dangerous for us."

"Sir!" One of the militia members yelled, almost breaking through the door.

"We're in the middle of a tactical meeting!" Amanda replied.

"I know. But it's important. The animals have breached our defensive line."

"What? Get everyone ready to defend themselves!" Amanda commanded and took her Magnum. "Did we get any word form the UNSC?"

"No..." Littner said. "We haven't even reached them yet. Without any slipspace capable ships, we're practically cut off..."

"Then let's die honorable," Amanda said. The sound of gunfire echoed from outside, coupled with the screams of dying soldiers. She cocked her Magnum and aimed at the entrance.

"First the Covenant, and now this..." Aiden said in defeat. He walked over to a weapon rack and grabbed a Battle Rifle. "Do we stand a chance?"

"I don't know," Littner said, as he grabbed a weapon himself. "But even if we don't, then we'll die trying."

Aiden walked over to the entrance, and took a last glance at his Datapad, burning the defeat in his mind. The population of once 500 million people, reduced to a few hundred. All the major cities overrun and in ruins. The live feed from outside showed hundreds of monsters crawling all over the city, but was quickly obstructed, as a corpse dangled down. He was able to see one of the birds feeding on it and closed the feed.

"Let's see who survives the longest." He said.

A form crawled out of the darkness, reminiscent of a small, bipedal theropod. Then a second one. The monsters charged them, but the three managed to shoot them down. Then the next wave came. And the next one.

"Outta ammo." Amanda sighed. "Was good working for you, sir." He managed to shoot down one last monster before one engulfed her head between its jaws. A sickening crunch later, and she was gone.

With her gone, the animals poured into the room at a faster rate, and easily overwhelmed them. A wolf knocked him onto his back, and looked into his face, opening its bloody jaws.

The last thing he saw before everything went black was the face of everyone he let down in his leadership, and Littner, who was still fighting next to him. A few shots still echoed in from outside, but it was no use. A second later, his head was crushed by the jaws of a Beowolf.

* * *

 **And Chapter 25 is here.**

 **Well, next time H2 is going to officially continue. I decided to put in a scene of another part of the galaxy here, and how they're dealing with the Grimm while the whole UNSC fleet is at Earth.  
**

 **However, the main part of this Chapter are the connections between Halo and RWBY I thought of. Of course, they aren't everything there is to it, and there are a few other things to discuss, but I thought that exposition might help a little with putting things into perspective.  
**

 **Also, this is actually the longest Chapter yet, if one counts in the Author's note.**

 **Now to replies:**

 **Tronmaster5704: Well, she didn't die. It would definitely take a lot more to kill her.**

 **Tincanman123: Thanks. Honestly, if I ever decide to not continue a story, I'd definitely put in an explanation at the end of the last Chapter.**

 **Plasma Dragon 123: It was Dutch who got hurt in the game. And yeah, Yang's fine, except for the 'printed' lung.**

 **red october700: Mentioned only. They are going to appear again, but not during H2 or 3.**  
 **As for books, I can definitely recommend the Forerunner Trilogy. Hunters in the Dark and Broken Circle are also great, especially for insight into the Covenant and Sangheili. Then there's, of course, Warfleet, New Blood, and Fractures. From the books you mentioned, I'd say finish the Kilo-5 Trilogy first though, and then move on to the next book. Hope I was able to help.**

 **Re the re class: Nope. Partially because the events between H3 and 4 need her presence, and because she wouldn't be able to survive it without a MJOLNIR or something similar.**

 **Bob: Yes, I know that. I'd suggest you read First Strike, it details why the survivors of Installation 04 went back to Reach. It also wasn't entirely glassed. Menachite Mountain and CASTLE-Base were still intact. (Until First Strike)**

 **SqueegeeWing: Thanks. That's why I did it this way. It's also a good way to have different points of view between the two groups.**

 **Axcel: Holy crap, that's a lot. Well, I'm gonna reply to the reviews in their own paragraph, from oldest to newest.**

 **Where does the exploding stuff come from? I can't remember reading that anywhere, and a google search didn't hold anything either. As for why they were able to do it, it's honestly just to have them have a bit more modern tech integrated into their weapons. Especially Nora and Jaune, since they lack any form of ranged attacks. As for the ODPs, I think massive ships and Earth itself are a bit more impressive than the Orbital Defense Platforms.**

 **Yeah, Ruby can't fly. What happened there was meant to be the move she did in the Volume 4 short, against the Beringel. ODSTs are part of the Marine Corps, so technically, they are. Yes, Elites have two hearts, and it's true that stabbing one through one heart wouldn't necessarily insta-kill him, but it's still possible. Both hearts are still part of one system, that probably only works as long as both are pumping.**  
 **MREs might taste good, but it also depends on personal taste. Jaune simply doesn't like them.**

 **I agree wholeheartedly. In that situation, it'd be defense. However, that doesn't mean everyone agrees with it. And if the UNSC were to get control of Halo, then the Covenant would likely be in their hand or concentrate their forces on the ring, so actually firing it would be a bit cruel. (Then there's also the factor that it wipes out the entire life in the galaxy, but they didn't know that part then.)**

 **Yang is actually pretty strong. Remember, in Volume 2 she was able to casually carry a massive boombox that caused a small earthquake when she put it down, and she is even stronger when angry. (i.E. how she obliterated the Paladin Roman was in.)**  
 **I've never seen the spikes portrayed as movable anywhere. Even a search through the internet didn't yield any results. What I found though was that the Spikes are meant as a symbol of the particular Mgalekgolo having a Bond Brother, meaning that Mgalekgolo that haven't grown big enough to split yet don't have those spikes.**  
 **I'll keep the whole stuff about the Grimm for later, as it came up in another one of your reviews.**

 **Good point didn't think about that.**

 **That's possible. Though, didn't Mendicant Bias first learn of humanity when they found us on Harvest? That's why he wanted to move the Dreadnought.**

 **Well, like I said, Jaune simply doesn't like them. The others are indifferent.**

 **True, but Neko is shorter and it doesn't make that much of a difference in the end.**

 **Well, to be fair, Salem didn't know what was on the other side. She simply saw a possibility to spread the Grimm and took it. However, I disagree with the Grimm not being a threat. On Remnant, most of the production areas, such as ammunition plants, are concentrated in the cities, ensuring a good supply. They also have thousands of years of experience fighting the Grimm. Meanwhile, the UNSC doesn't. Factories and Ressource plants are often separate or in smaller communities, making them less defended. Then there's also the defense of cities. Obviously, Remnant has most of its cities in areas hard to reach for the Grimm, and they are heavily defended. The UNSC, and Covenant for that matter are mostly prepared for attacks from the air and space, and less against monsters attacking the city from all sides.**  
 **Of course, the people in the Halo world are also a danger in that situation, thanks to all the negative emotion, especially during a war.**  
 **By no means would the Grimm be able to defeat UNSC or Covenant completely, but they would no doubt cripple both parties immensely. In the end, the sentient species can't bombard or glass their cities or entire planets either as soon as they detect some Grimm.**

 **What you mean are the blades of the Spiker, they're made of Tungsten-Carbide. The ammo is simply described as 'Superheated Metallic Spikes'. Honestly, I have no idea where I got that Magnesium stuff from. I think it was from the German manual of Halo 3, though I'm not quite sure. I have to rummage through some stuff to find it again.  
**

 **Like I said, I'm not big on shipping, and I'm not a big fan of having characters from different franchises getting together, especially with that age difference. (The only things I actually ever shipped were Jaune and Pyrrha, as well as Gamagori and Mako from Kill la Kill) Though I gotta admit, they'd probably work well together. I can just imagine a date between the two where they simply sit there and say nothing the whole evening.**

 **Yeah, she'd probably be arrested in the normal world. (Still wondering why she didn't get any punishment after the yellow trailer). However, she's an important asset in the Covenant War, so ONI is giving her a second chance.**

 **That's gonna be a fun part when they learn the truth, and how their world fits in. And I can definitely say that they will all take it differently.**

 **All in all, this was great feedback. Thanks for taking your time with it.**

 **PhoenixClaw2128: Thanks, I feel the same. It's just that sometimes I feel like people are going to think I stopped writing when nothing comes out for more than a month.**

 **ChronoHyperion: I appreciate the effort. I can definitely have those Marines make cameos, but High Charity is already planned out completely. As it is, I already suspect it to have around seven thousand words.**  
 **Remnant will definitely have more screentime either way though. I'm not going to spoil anything about the scene in which Miranda died in H3, so you'll just have to wait and see. As for the Marines, if what the scientist this Chapter said will become reality, then you can expect more badass human soldiers. (And who knows, maybe some Covies too.) Infinity though, they'd have two at most. The UNSC Infinity was the only one ever built, and it took decades. But it actually has a sister ship, the UNSC Eternity, which isn't completed yet.**

 **Leader, COLE TRAIN, ERROR SANS: I'm just going to stop replying to these.**

 ** ** ** ** ** **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.************


	26. Regret

Chapter 26: Regret

 **Coelest System; Orbit above Substance**

 **UNSC Stalwart-class light Fregade** _ **"In Amber Clad"**_ **, Bridge**

 **November 2nd; 2552**

The universe around Weiss drastically changed. The blue and purple shine of Slipspace disappeared, and she felt her gut turning. She hated that she was still not fully accustomed to Slipspace Jumps, and hoped it'd get better soon.

The bridge was, obviously, pretty busy right now. The ship of the Prophet just left Slipspace, and they had to hurry to jump too, as to not come out in another system. Weiss requested to be on the bridge when it happened. If there was one thing that interested her about the new world they were in, then it was navigation, so seeing this first hand was important to her.

She opened her eyes again and gasped. In front of them was a giant, blue gas giant. It was massive, suggesting just how close they were to it. And then there was some weird shimmer on it... No, it couldn't be.

The force of the jump caused Keyes to almost slip out of her chair, though she was able to hold on. "Report!"

"Both engine cores have spun to zero. We're drifting." One of the officers, who Weiss knew as Remi, responded.

"Archer Pods are cold. I'll need to re-key the system." Pascal, the weapon officer, added.

Weiss sighed internally. No Archer Pods meant no Archer Rockets, which left them pretty defenseless if the Prophet decided to immediately attack them.

"Do it, and find out where we are," Keyes said and opened her comms. "Sorry for the quick jump, Sergeant. You in one piece?"

 _"I'm good. Chief?"_

 _"We're fine,"_ Cortana replied, responding in place of the Spartan.

Weiss hoped her friends would be okay too. They were waiting in the hangar, in case they had to evacuate or fight intruders.

"Ma'am, there's an object. Coming into view now." Remi said.

Weiss looked back at the planet and felt how the air stopped pumping through her lungs. Her heart stopped for a second, as she saw the last thing she ever wanted to see.

There, in the darkness of space, next to the planet, was a shimmering ring. Even from here, she could see the continents and oceans on the inside, and the blue hue of Forerunner technology.

"Cortana, what exactly am I looking at?" Keyes asked.

 _"That-"_

"Halo," Weiss muttered in disbelief. "No... No. This isn't... I thought it was over. I thought we finished it." She felt how tears started to come down her cheeks, as she remembered what they faced back on Installation 04.

"So that is what my father found..." Miranda whispered. "I thought Halo was some kind of superweapon..."

"It is..." Weiss said. "Fire it, and all life in the galaxy is wiped out. But... But that's not the dangerous part. It's what lies in the bowels that's the real horror of Halo..."

"I want all the information we got on the first ring," Miranda replied, keeping her cool. Weiss couldn't say anything against it, after all, the Captain wasn't there. Hell, the heiress wasn't even sure if she knew what exactly happened to her father. "Schematics, topography, whatever. I don't care if I have the clearance or not."

 _"Yes, ma'am."_

"Where's our target?"

"The enemy ship has stopped above the ring, ma'am. We're going to pass right over it."

"Perfect. Given what we know about this ring, it's even more important that we capture the Prophet of Regret. Find out why he came to Earth, why he came here. Chief, take the first platoon. Hard drop, secure a landing zone. Sergeant, load up two flights of Pelicans and follow them." She turned towards Weiss. "You and Ruby, you'll go down with a Pelican and assist the Chief once he cleared the landing zone."

Weiss snapped out of her shock and nodded. "Y- Yeah."

"Is everything okay?"

"Well, I just... I remembered what happened on the last ring. However, if my prediction is right, then we can definitely avoid another outbreak. I'm going to tell Ruby. What about Jaune and Pyrrha though?"

"They will help us with trying to stop the ring from activating. Once we find a way to do it, that is."

Weiss nodded, and left the bridge, directly moving towards the hangar. She felt a small shake, as the drop pods dispatched, but continued moving. "Dammit." She muttered to herself. "Dammit. I hoped we'd never find another ring."

The door to the hangar opened, and she saw how multiple Marines were already putting weapons and ammo into the Pelicans. Ruby, who was helping Johnson with overlooking the process, immediately waved at Weiss to come over to them. "Weiss!"

"Ruby, did you hear the news?"

"Yeah... Another ring." Ruby clenched her fists. "I..."

"Calm down," Johnson said. "There's nothing to be afraid of. We now know where the Flood's hiding on the ring, and I doubt that the Covenant will release them again. Even they won't make that kinda mistake twice."

Weiss gulped and nodded. He was right. There was nothing to be afraid of. And even if they met the Flood, she knew that the In Amber Clad had a SHIVA aboard. It wouldn't be too hard to blow up the ring. "Ruby, how far is our ride?"

"Almost done. Do you wanna fly?"

Weiss shook her head. "No. While I got the basics down, I don't think I could get us down safely."

"All supplies are onboard, Sergeant!" One of the Marines said.

"Good." Ruby and Johnson replied in unison and looked at each other.

"Can... Can we just get down now?"

"Marines! Buckle up and move your asses into your Pelican! We're going to give the Chief a bit of cover!"

"Hoo-ah!" The Marines replied and went into the dropships.

Ruby and Weiss sat down in theirs, keeping their weapons ready on their lap. Weiss saw how Ruby checked the cartridge one last time, nodding along with the clicking of her shapeshifting scythe. From the looks of the Marine next to her, he wasn't very thrilled to have a giant weapon unfolding next to him. Especially when it stabbed into his seat next to his shoulder.

The Pelican started, sliding out of the hangar. Weiss slowly, but steadily made her way into the cockpit, looking out of the window. Johnson turned around, nodded approvingly, and looked back out of the window.

"We're entering the atmosphere in one minute!" The pilot said. "Better try to hold on."

Weiss was able to spot explosions on the surface of the Halo and guessed that the Covenant was engaging the local sentinels. If that Ring also had a monitor? And was it less annoying than Spark?

Flames appeared outside the window as they entered the atmosphere, though it quickly stopped as their altitude lowered.

They broke through the clouds, and Weiss was able to see the area they were in. Below them was a lush, tropical jungle, dotted by giant lakes and small seas. Forerunner structures grew out of the waters and were covered by algae.

In the distance, she was able to see a big wall, behind which was a cold, harsh environment. If this place was anything like the last Halo, then this would probably be the location of the control room. She noticed how the water on their side of the wall was a bit... greener than the closer it was to the wall. There had to be some nasty algae living in those lakes.

Above the wall, she was able to make out small explosions. The sentinels were really keen on keeping the Covenant out. Hopefully, they aren't as determined when it came to the UNSC.

"Sure. I'll keep an eye out." The pilot said, ripping Weiss out of her thoughts.

"Keep an eye out for what? Covenant?"

"Well, of course. But it sounds like there are some nasty things in the air."

"Air?"

Suddenly, something scrapped over the top of the Pelican. "Is that a Sentinel?" Weiss asked.

"I don't remember them using their arms..." Johnson said.

Whatever landed on their ship, slowly made its way towards the front. Only ten seconds later, it finally showed it's ugly face. The creature was reptilian in nature, with two leathered wings. Its head resembled that of a lizard, though the long, pointy tail and two pairs of legs gave it an appearance akin to that of a mythical creature.

However, the one thing that stood out about it was the color. It was completely black, with small batches of white armor scattering its belly and head.

"Grimm?!" Johnson said.

"A cliff drake? What the hell?" Weiss asked in shock. "Why are there Grimm here?"

"You know this thing?"

"Yeah. It's a small creature, normally living on a small, volcanic Island off the Valeian cost." Weiss explained. She sighed. "Luckily, it won't be able to break in. Their claws aren't good against... well, anything sturdier than a piece of wood, really."

"Still, why are the Grimm here?" Johnson asked.

"Grimm?" Ruby asked, opening the door to the cabin.

"Ruby, get back. It's already full in here!"

"Can we still land?" Johnson asked into his comms.

Their Pelican slowly came towards the LZ, and Weiss noticed a couple of ruins in the back. They didn't look Forerunner, more like something one would see from ancient civilizations in deep jungles. The area before them was littered with Covenant corpses, alongside a few fallen ODSTs. The Chief was walking out of the ruins, along with one living ODST.

"Yeah, seems to be safe," Weiss replied and left the cabin. She took her Assault Rifle, while Ruby took her Sniper Rifle. The bay opened, and they jumped out.

They arrived on the ground, glad to finally have some solid dirt under their feet again. Behind them, two of the Pelicans dropped off one Warthog each. Weiss and Ruby walked up to the Chief. "We're here. Where's Regret?"

"I'd say he hides in that giant temple I saw on the way down," Weiss explained. "If I were the villain, then I'd hide in that thing."

"Then saddle up!" One of the Marines in the Warthog said. Weiss remembered him from New Mombasa. Dubbo. "We're movin' out!"

The two huntresses sat down in one Warthog, Weiss taking the passenger seat to use her glyphs, and Ruby taking the turret. The Chief took the other Warthog, jumping into the driver's seat.

They drove along a narrow pathway, taking out two jackals on the way, and arrived at a cliff overlooking one of the lakes. In the distance, the strange wall could be seen, and the air battle between the ring's defense forces, Grimm and Covenant. Three temples protruded out of the lake, and the Supercarrier hung over a distant mountain, it's size still intimidating. A few four-winged birds flew around in the air, almost looking like some kind of Pterosaur.

"Whoa... it's like a postcard!" Chipps Dubbo said in awe. "Dear Sarge: kicking ass in outer space, wish you were here."

 _"I heard that... jackass!"_ Johnson replied, getting a snicker out of Ruby.

The group moved alongside the cliff, and found a big temple, in front of a canyon that blocked their path. The temple was already reinforced by the Covenant, who used multiple Shades and Ghosts to keep the position. A large object was leaned against the side of the temple that faced the gorge as if it was meant to slide down. A few still dissolving black bodies made them guess that the Covies just took out a few Grimm.

"The Covenant have control of the bridge ahead. They're going to try to bottle us up on this side of the gorge. The controls to extend the bridge should be in this structure."

Ruby's hog moved in, quickly driving around the first shade. Weiss summoned a glyph to block the fire, and opened a small hole in the shield, to allow Ruby to shoot. The shade broke down under the continued fire, and their jeep drove up to the temple. "We're going to secure the inside," Weiss said over the comms.

 _"Affirmative."_ The Chief replied. They got a glimpse of the other Warthog ramming a Ghost, while shooting at it, slowly chipping away at its front.

Ruby, Weiss, and Dubbo jumped out of their jeep and went into the building. The narrow corridor led into a circular center room, where the holographic depiction of a weird Alien was visible.

It looked like it was sick, sitting in a hovering throne. The creature wore an expensive-looking robe and a golden crown. Two ornaments came out of the back of the throne, almost looking like golden wings. It sounded like it was currently holding a sermon.

However, none of the three had currently time to listen. A small lance of Covenant was occupying the room, consisting of three Unggoy and one Sangheili. Ruby took a Grenade and threw it into the room. The dying screams of two Grunts were heard, and Weiss shot her AR. It hit one of the Grunts, ripping it to pieces.

The Elite shot at them while taking cover behind a pillar. Weiss summoned a glyph, dilating time around the Elite, before moving in. She used the slowed down time, and stabbed the Sangheili multiple times. He was unable to retaliate, and she easily broke through the shield.

She noticed how her glyph started to lose its effect and jumped back. The Elite, who tried to hit her with his rifle, left his cover, enabling Dubbo to shoot him with his AR.

"Covenant's taken out!" Weiss said.

 _"We're done outside too,"_ Cortana replied. _"There's a Wraith on the other side of the canyon. We'll come in for cover until we activated the bridge."_

Ruby walked over to the control panel and pressed it. Through the window, they were able to see the bridge slide down, moving over the gap.

Behind them, the Chief came in, alongside the ODST, who was carrying a Rocket Launcher. "Hey, Cortana?" Ruby asked.

"Yes?"

"Who's that?" She pointed at the hologram.

"That's the Prophet of Regret."

"Looks just as much of a jackass as I would've guessed," Weiss muttered. "What's he talking about?"

"It's a sermon. I've been listening to it since we landed. You want me to translate?"

"Sure." Ruby shrugged.

Suddenly, the Hologram started talking in English. "The Forerunners, our most exalted lords, used the seven sacred rings to flee a doomed existence, to escape their endless struggle against the Flood. Long ago, Prophets and Sangheili fought an equally fruitless war. Indeed, I suspect we would still be at each other's throats had the Prophets not found evidence of the Forerunners and their Great Journey."

"Yeah, he's definitely full of himself." Weiss deadpanned.

"By the way..." Ruby muttered, looking out of the window. Now that the bridge was down, they had a full view of the Wraith waiting on the other side. It was shooting at the temple, and dust rained down from the ceiling as it hit. "What are we going to do about that?"

"Sergeant? Can we get something more... heavy?" Weiss asked, pressing on her earpiece.

 _"Roger that. Armor's on the way."_ Johnson replied.

"I wanted to ask..." Weiss started while they were waiting for their reinforcements. "Who exactly built these ruins? They don't look Forerunner."

"Maybe some other culture evolved here and built them," Dubbo guessed.

"Unlikely. Why would the Forerunner systems be inside the structures?" Cortana explained. "I guess they simply imported them from somewhere or tried to imitate some other design."

They heard something heavy hitting outside, and Weiss went out to look, together with Ruby. Above them hovered a Pelican. And before them stood what it dropped: A brand-new M808B-Scorpion Tank, with the designation UE8-14.

"Nice," Ruby muttered. "Mine."

"You don't even know how to drive one. Obviously, this one's mine." Weiss replied.

"Negative," John said, suddenly standing behind him. "I need you two on a Warthog. Give me cover."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Fine."

She and Ruby went into the car. Ruby, once again, manned the turret, while Weiss climbed into the passenger's seat. Dubbo drove, and the ODST sat down on the Scorpion's tracks.

They passed over the bridge, and Dubbo moved the Warthog behind the Wraith, enabling Ruby to take out the exposed energy core, while the Chief took down the other mortar.

A few Ghosts came out of a wide cave but were no match for the two vehicles, as they entered the ruins. Grunts, Jackals, and Ghosts stood in their way, but thanks to the heavy ordinance, they weren't a problem to take out.

Eventually, their way through the ruins led them to a big, open area. A big temple stood in the middle, fortified by a few Shades and portable Energy barriers. A swarm of cliff drakes was circling around the top of the temple.

Weiss guessed that these things were going after their regular activity: building nests. For Grimm, Cliff Drakes were always surprisingly docile, only attacking if they feel threatened. Or if enough negative emotion is in the area. Hell, there had been cases of people being able to pet them. There were a couple of theories about that, that they lost their natural instincts for example, or that they cross-bread with normal animals at some point.

Sadly, it looked like the rattling of the Scorpion was enough to rile them up. The swarm descended on them, but one shell was enough to blow a big hole into the swarm. The remaining Drakes fled in panic, disappearing behind a mountain.

"I definitely prefer these things over Beowolf..." Ruby muttered.

"Uh, yeah. I think our other friends are willing to leave now." Weiss added, pointing at the temple. Grunts, Elites, and Kig-Yar poured out. They had apparently hidden inside.

The Chief immediately opened fire, taking out an Elite and a few Grunts. The other Unggoy fled in panic, just like the Kig-Yar. The remaining two Elites took cover behind a few pillars, while the Chief continued to taking potshots at the temple.

The Warthog drove up a few ramps, arriving at the balcony that led inside the temple. Ruby opened fire on the flanked Elites, taking one of them out. The third Elite realized that there wasn't anywhere to take cover, and drew his sword, running towards the jeep.

Weiss smiled. While she admired their sense of honor, such an undying need to die honorable was their greatest downfall.

They jumped out of the Warthog after it turned the Elite into swiss cheese, and walked along the balcony, while the Chief started moving up.

A Pelican appeared over them and dropped multiple ordinance pods. Ruby, Weiss, the Chief, and the ODST stocked up on ammo, while Dubbo swapped his Assault Rifle for a Shotgun.

Well equipped, they moved inside the temple. Immediately after entering the building, Plasma came their way. Weiss created a glyph, giving them a bit of extra cover, while the Chief took down a few of the Grunts alongside Dubbo and the ODST.

Slowly but steadily, they moved up, using Weiss' and Ruby's semblances to their advantage. Soon, they reached another hologram of the Prophet, and Cortana, once again, translated it.

"In a gesture of peace and reconciliation, the Prophets promised to find the means of the Forerunners' transcendence and to share this knowledge with the Elites. The Elites promised to defend the Prophets as they searched. A simple arrangement, that has become our binding Covenant!"

"Man, they really are delusional," Ruby muttered. "I mean, you'd think they would have realized what Halo's true purpose is after researching it for who knows how long..."

"Yes, but-" Cortana was cut off, as a massive fireball engulfed the area behind them. Weiss created a big glyph, blocking debris flying their way.

"What the hell?" Dubbo asked. "Did the Covies rig the entrance?"

"I don't think that they'd damage Forerunner structures," Ruby replied. "Anyways, we have to press forward. Regret has to die before he can activate the ring."

"You seem like you don't care that the entrance just blew up," Weiss replied.

"Well, it's probably just some Ghost that blew up or something."

Weiss sighed. While she was determined to finish their mission, Ruby seemed to put everything else to the side, even something as weird as this.

They fought past another small platoon of Covenant soldiers and entered a ravine, created by a stream of crystal-clear water. A single Kig-Yar was walking towards the edge, overlooking a valley. The Chief grabbed its head and snapped the creature's neck without any effort.

He picked up its Beam Rifle and lied down. Ruby used her Semblance to push herself off the wall and landed on a branch that grew over the river. She ledged herself onto the wood with her Scythe, and looked into the valley through her weapons scope. "There's Covenant down there. Stay back while we... cull them a little." Ruby muttered.

A shot broke the silence, and the distant roar of an Elite was heard. Then a second shot. And a third one. Soon, the Chief had to throw away his empty weapon. He gestured to Weiss, Dubbo and the ODST to follow him, and they jumped down the waterfall. Weiss created a few glyphs in the air to get them down safely.

Dead Kig-Yar and Sangheili scattered the valley, and the river on the bottom had started to take on a lilac color. She saw how a group of Drones left a few caves in the back of the valley and opened fire on them.

Weiss dove behind a rock, while the other humans took cover behind a glyph. Luckily, the Yanme'e were quickly dealt with, and the last few Elites that stood in their way weren't much of a problem either.

They left the valley through a cave in the back and walked through a ravine. The ravine opened up to the big lake, and the battle going on above them.

"Good, still no word about _In Amber Clad_ on the Covenant battlenet. It's odd, the Covenant knew we made landfall, but they don't seem to consider us a serious threat. Maybe they're too preoccupied with the Grimm and Sentinels. Boy, are they in for a big surprise," Cortana said.

There was a structure sticking out of the lake, with a ramp going up to the land. The _In Amber Clad_ had already dropped off ordinance on the landside of the ramp, and so the human forces filled up on ammo, before going down.

Ruby took out a Jackal Sniper on top of the building, and they entered the structure. Two Elites guarded the inside, one armed with a Plasma Rifle and one armed with an Energy Sword.

However, more interesting were their ornament armors. They were a dark red, full of golden highlights. It looked like the Elites were royalty.

Still, they were more also than willing to attack. The Sword Elite ran at them, and his blade clashed against a stone, as Ruby used her Semblance to dodge the Sangheili. However, the other Elite shot her in the back, causing Ruby to cry out in pain.

Dubbo and the ODST opened fire on the Elite, and his shield flickered. It was enough to make him duck behind a bit of rubble.

His friend tried to hit the Chief with his sword, cutting into his shoulder plate. The Energy Shield of the Spartan's armor blocked the damage though, and the Chief grabbed the Elites hand. He rammed his knee into the gut of the Alien and knocked him down with a punch to the neck.

Weiss created a glyph to launch herself at the other Elite and started to attack him with a fury of stabs, breaking his shield. Another stab went right into his throat, killing the Alien. With both Sangheili dead, Weiss walked up to Ruby and helped her up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but I think that took out a good portion of my Aura. How does my back look?"

Weiss looked. "Well, it's good that you're wearing a military vest. It burned right through it, scorching your dress."

"Ugh, crap. You know how expensive this stuff is?"

"Concentrate, you two." Cortana interrupted.

The Chief walked up to the hologram of Regret in the middle of the room. He put Cortana's chip into the projector. "Seems like our guess was correct," Cortana muttered. "The Prophet of Regret is planning to activate Halo!"

"Well, shit," Weiss said, gritting her teeth.

"Not so fast. Are you sure? Maybe we're lucky and the Covies know that it's a seriously bad idea." Dubbo suggested.

As a response, Cortana translated the Prophet's sermon. "I shall light this holy ring, release its cleansing flame, and burn a path into the divine beyond!"

"Pretty much."

"Commander, we've got a problem." The Chief said.

 _"So I heard,"_ Keyes replied. _"But from what I understand, the Prophet will need an object, the Index, to activate the ring. I've located a library similar to the one you found on the first Halo. If the rings work the same way, the Index should be inside."_

"Oh, gods, not the library," Ruby muttered, seemingly horrified. Weiss could've just imagined things, but she swore that at the mention of the place, even the Chief had a shiver run down his spine.

 _"I'll bet the Covenant are thinkin' the exact same thing,"_ Johnson added.

 _"Then, we'd better get to it, Sergeant. Extract your men, and meet me, Sergeant Arc and Corporal Nikos at the library."_

 _"Yes, ma'am."_

 _"We'll secure the Index, Chief. You and your team take out the Prophet. He's given us all the intel we need."_

The Chief nodded, but the silence was broken by the sound of insects. A swarm of Yanme'e poured in from holes in the ceiling. Weiss jumped behind a piece of rubble, before creating a few glyphs as additional cover. She aimed at the Drones with her Assault Rifle and shot them down using controlled bursts of fire.

And as if the insects weren't enough trouble, a pair of Sangheili came in through a door. Weiss and Dubbo continued to shoot the Yanme'e, while Ruby, Chief and the ODST started to fight the Elites. Soon, all enemies were defeated, though the ODST got injured by a plasma bolt.

They left the room and found themselves in the middle of a group of Forerunner structures sticking out of the water. They were connected by bridges, some of which had already collapsed. Scorch marks on the overgrown ruins told them that there was a fight here not too long ago. And judging by the sounds of Plasma Fire that still echoed throughout the air, it was still going on.

"Hey, what's that?" The ODST asked, approaching a big, white oval on the ground. "Is that an egg?"

"Man, don't touch it. Maybe one of those damn Aliens spun a cocoon or something."

"No... This might be part of a Grimm." Weiss guessed. She looked around and noticed a disturbing lack of Covenant forces. The only ones she was able to spot were in the distance, on a platform that looked like it was part of a gondola system.

"But I thought they dissipate after death?"

"Normally, yes. This might be an egg, but it's too large to be from a Cliff Drake. Not to mention that they built their nests up in, well, cliffs."

The ODST didn't listen though and touched the object. Only a second later, and he was gone. The thing exploded with enough force to not only disintegrate him but even blow a bit out of the Forerunner structure.

Weiss created a glyph, shielding them from the rubble. They waited until the smoke had cleared, though nothing remained. Only a crater.

"What the hell?" Dubbo yelled.

"Dammit, this is bad." Weiss gasped. "I thought those things were extinct!"

"What was extinct?" The Chief asked.

"A rare kind of Grimm. It's like a giant bird that drops exploding scales. They had been hunted to extinction a few decades ago. At least we thought so."

"Like a bomber plane," Dubbo asked. "That's messed up."

A screech echoed over the lake, and a big shadow flew over them. They walked up to the railing and looked up. A big, dragon-like bird flew over the lake, dropping more of its bombs. A temple next to them, not approachable due to all the bridges being broken, suddenly went up in flames and fell into the water below.

"That certainly explains why the defense systems of the ring are so riled up," Cortana mentioned. "How is that Grimm called?"

"I think it was... Burung Bom? Or something similar. Definitely began with a B." Ruby explained.

"It'll definitely make it harder to go forward." They watched, as the bird turned back. They were about to brace for another bombing run, as something big rose out of the water. The being extended three thing arms and seemed to watch them for a second.

"It's... A giant Sentinel!" Cortana said.

The Enforcer turned around, and flew towards the massive flying Grimm, ready to engage it in combat.

"That's our chance!" Ruby yelled.

They ran past the next bridge, and into another structure. The Enforcer lit up the air with its weapons, using both Energy Beams and Missiles. Sounds of explosions echoed through the area. A few of the lesser Sentinels fell into the water after being caught in the explosions, and the bridge gave up behind them.

"What the hell? How can this thing destroy Forerunner structures?"

"I tried to run an analysis on the explosions. It seems like these 'bombs' contain a chemical similar to the one the Covenant uses in their plasma coils. And we know that their Plasma is able to cut through Forerunner materials. Also, there's something else. Though it is but a theory."

"And what would that be?" Ruby asked.

"These structures look overgrown. Old, ancient. We haven't encountered anything like this on the first Halo. EIther they aren't Forerunner in origin and were transported here, or the repair systems of the Ring failed somehow."

"But how-" Weiss was interrupted, as more explosions rang from outside. "You know what, let's talk about that later. I want to get off these things before all of them sink into the lake."

The Chief nodded, and they quickly ran through the structure. The group ended up on a large platform. The battle was still raging over them, though it had shifted a bit to the east.

The platform itself was held by three Elites and a few Jackals. The Covenant forces were seemingly surprised by the humans, making it rather easy to defeat them. However, that victory didn't last, as a Phantom closed in. It dropped off two Hunters, who immediately opened fire on the group.

Weiss rolled out of the way, and felt a few shrapnels on her back, as the attack blew up a few stones behind her. She diverted the attention of one Mgalekgolo so that the Chief was able to climb onto it and plant a grenade into its back.

The other Hunter got enraged by the death of its brother and tried to charge. It staggered, however, as Ruby dashed past him. The petals confused the behemoth, and it saw Ruby standing at the edge. The monster charged at her and prepared to strike. Ruby was faster though and dodged at the last second. The Hunter was unable to stop in time and fell into the depths below.

 _"Cortana, the Covenant are getting nosy,"_ Keyes said. _"I don't want to give away my position, so I'm rerouting a few stragglers back to you. I apologize; these Pelicans are all you gonna get."_

"Understood, ma'am," Cortana replied.

A Pelican closed in and dropped off ordinance, as well as two more Marines, one carrying a SPNKR. Weiss walked up to one of the ordinance pods and grabbed two more magazines for her AR.

"A gondola's launching from the far towers. Big surprise, it's full of Covenant reinforcements."

"I'll try to take some of them out," Ruby stated and rammed the tip of her scythe into the ground. "Keep an eye on the bomb Grimm."

"Got it," Weiss said and looked into the sky. The battle was moving more and more to the east, and the Grimm was putting up a surprisingly good fight. Then again, the Sentinel had a lot more blind spots.

A shot pierced the silence. Weiss looked back towards the gondola and saw a dead Elite in the distance. The Grunts were running around in panic so that Ruby was able to pick them off one by one. The Gondola finally arrived, and one last Grunt tried to flee but was taken out by Dubbo.

They entered the Gondola, and the Chief hit the switch in its front section. It started moving alongside a gravitational cable, directly towards one of the structures sticking out of the water.

"Hey, Weiss?" Ruby asked, walking up to her friend.

"Yeah?"

"Any idea how we are supposed to get away once we killed the Prophet?"

Weiss looked over to the bigger structure. "I guess we ask for extraction. Fast. The place will probably be swarming with Covenant forces."

They reached the middle of the way, as another gondola passed by them. Two Sangheili and a few Yanme'e came out, jumping over the small gap.

Weiss used a glyph to throw one of the Elites off the gondola, while the other one got caught in a gush of wind created by Ruby dashing past him. It wasn't enough to throw him off, but the petals confused him so that the Chief could knock him down into the lake. Dubbo and the Marines took down the Drones.

Ruby looked through her scope and gasped. "Great. They got Snipers on the structure. I'll see if I can take them out." She shot once, twice, and nodded. "Yeah, they're gone. They still got two Shades though."

One of the Marines stepped up next to her, carrying a SPNKR on his shoulder. A rocket escaped the front of the weapon, and a small, purple explosion was visible in the distance. The same process happened a second time.

"Okay, that should be all the resistance they got up there," Ruby said.

The gondola arrived at the structure, and a small bridge extended out of it. The team went inside, taking out a few more Jackals and Yanme'e.

"Ah, now I see," Cortana said as they gathered around a big, rectangular hole in the ground. "There's a submerged section that connects these towers to the outlying structures. Looks like we're going down. Unless you'd prefer to swim."

"Full car, comin' up!" Dubbo said.

A small, closed gondola came up in the hole, stopping at the top. It was full of Kig-Yar, which wasn't really a problem. The Chief rolled a Grenade into the gondola, killing all the Jackals inside.

They entered the small room, and Weiss tried not to step into any of the dead Jackals. If she had the time, she'd have tried to shove all of them out with her Semblance.

Dubbo pressed the holographic button in the front, and the gondola went down into the water. It moved through submerged ruins, making Weiss wonder how many of these were old, and how many were destroyed in the current battle.

Ruby pressed her face against the window, watching a school of fish swimming past them outside. In the distance, a few pieces of rubble, and the remains of a broken Enforcer sunk into the lake. "Damn, looks like the Grimm won," Dubbo muttered.

"Yeah. Let's hope the Covenant diverts it away from here." Weiss added. She couldn't say why, but it felt like there weren't enough parts falling into the water. That Enforcer was massive, but the debris sinking to the bottom of the lake was the size of two Sentinels at most.

"I've intercepted a secure transmission from Regret's carrier to the something called _High Charity_." Cortana interrupted, getting Weiss' attention. "It seems to be a formal apology to the Prophets of Truth and Mercy."

"That are some dumb names. Can't they have normal names, like Bob or Steve?" Ruby asked.

"They're Aliens, you dunce," Weiss replied.

"Apparently, Regret jumped the gun when he attacked Earth. He's asking the other Prophets to 'forgive his premature arrival', arguing that 'no human presence was foretold'. That explains why there were so few ships in his fleet. But it's odd that a Prophet would have such bad intel on his enemy's homeworld."

"Maybe they kept it a secret?" Weiss guessed. "I know that Politicians play each other like that if they try to get more power. I believe Aliens wouldn't be that different." Weiss noticed how the others looked at her. "What? I grew up in Atlas. I saw Politicians back home firsthand."

"Well, it sounds logical," Dubbo replied. "Might be what happened."

The Gondola shot up, arriving at its goal inside the structure. It opened, and they went outside. "Area secure." The Chief stated.

The group walked up a few ramps and arrived in a large tunnel. The glass walls revealed that they were still underwater. A few Grunts were sleeping in the tunnel, making it easy to move forward. The hallways led them to a big, open area, adorned by a giant hologram of Regret.

"That guy's really full of himself," Ruby muttered, rolling her eyes.

However, the bigger problem was all the Covenant forces inside the room. Hell, there were even a few honor guards amongst the enemies.

They started to move from cover to cover and took out the Jackals and Honor Guards first, after which they focused on the Yanme'e. With that strategy, the enemies were dealt with quickly, and the door ahead opened. Two Hunters entered the room and shot their beams at their position.

Ruby dodged with the help of her Semblance and took a few potshots at the Hunters. The bullets didn't get through the thick armor of the Mgalekgolo but still did their job. The Hunters were diverted so that the Chief could shoot one of them in the back with his Sniper Rifle. Worms flew everywhere as the Hunters midsection exploded, and the surviving worms got crushed under the collapsing armor.

The other Hunter quickly turned around and shot his beam at the Chief. He jumped into cover, and the beam hit one of the support beams. It burned a bit into the Forerunner alloy, but not enough to destroy the support beam.

Ruby dashed towards the Hunter, grabbing one of the Plasma Grenades an Honor Guard dropped and stuck it onto the Hunters back. It exploded, killing the Mgalekgolo.

"Man, I hate those things," Dubbo muttered, shooting one of the worms.

"Hey, Cortana? Can you translate that sermon?" Weiss asked, looking at the big Hologram.

"Sure."

"Most of those we encountered in our search were compelled to join our Union. To take part in the moment of promise, Freedom for Allegiance, Salvation for Service! But some, like Humans, chose to impede our progress. Block our access to sacred sites, damage Holy Relics! For their transgressions, the Humans shall be hunted until none remain alive!"

"What an ass," Weiss scoffed. "Wait a second. Is that the reason for this war?"

"No, we never destroyed any Forerunner structures before the Covenant declared war," Cortana explained. "We haven't even encountered any."

"So they're lying to their people?" Ruby asked. "And thanks to these lies... billions are dying on both sides?"

"Oh man, he's so dead," Dubbo said, with pure disgust in his voice.

"Yeah. Let's keep moving. The sooner he dies, the better." Ruby said, taking the lead.

They went through another hallway, taking out the cloaked Unggoy and Elites inside, before entering a Gondola that went through the underwater ruins. Ruby, once again, watched the Alien fish outside like a child at a zoo.

"Regret's carrier just received a response from High Charity. A very well encrypted message from the Prophet of Truth." Cortana mentioned. "Listen to this: 'Your haste has jeopardized the fulfillment of our Covenant, threatened our grand design. That you shall be spared a public display of our contempt is thanks only to Mercy and his council.' Truth, Mercy, Regret. Three Prophet Hierarchs. Killing Regret should shake up the Covenant leadership. But frankly, it sounds like we might be doing Truth a favor."

"Huh. Maybe Truth is the one conspiring against the others. Mercy seems to be more friendly and forgiving towards Regret."

"Could be. Man, the Covenant's leadership's just as messed up as ours." Dubbo said.

The Gondola shot upwards again, leaving the water. It led into another interior area, and the quietly moved forward. An Honor Guard walked in front of them and has seemingly not noticed them. The Chief put his arm around the Elite and broke his neck with one swift move. He picked up the Energy Sword and used it on the next Honor Guard to stab him silently.

They found another Hologram, and once again, Cortana translated. "Every member of the Covenant shall walk the path. None will be left behind when our Great Journey begins! That is the Prophet's age-old promise. And it shall be fulfilled."

"You know, for worshipping Forerunner artifacts, they have a really bad grasp on what they're actually doing," Ruby said, slightly amused.

The hallway quickly led outside, were energy beams were cutting through the air. The Covenant was apparently fighting against the ring's defense forces and were loosing, judging by all the dead bodies around.

An Enforcer was hovering over the area, and shot a barrage of missiles, blowing up a large group of Sangheili and Unggoy.

"I... I don't think we should engage here." Dubbo said.

"Yeah. Let them handle this." Ruby added.

They snuck past the battle, watching as more and more Covenant soldiers fell against the Forerunner Sentinels. Luckily, the Sentinels didn't attack them. That probably meant that the different monitors haven't had any contact. Not that they could now.

The group arrived at another Gondola port, with one Gondola already moving towards them. "Okay, this is it," Ruby said. "Regret's probably over there."

"I'm ready," Weiss said.

The sound of engines appeared above them, as a Pelican closed in, dropping off one last batch of weapons. _"This is my last run. I'm nearly out of fuel. We've secured the remains of the first tower cluster, so I'll set down there. Call when you're ready for pick-"_ The transmission stopped, as a few bolts of Plasma hit the side of the Pelican. It caught on fire and spiraled down into the lake.

"What?" Weiss yelled. She looked into the sky and saw two Banshees approaching, assisted by strange, round air vehicles.

"Banshees! And Vampires!" Dubbo yelled.

One of the Marines shot his Rocket Launcher, destroying one of the Banshees. The other one flew in an arch, opening fire on the group. Weiss blocked it with a glyph, as Sentinels closed in from the sides. The Vampire turned towards them and shot.

Pink needles, way bigger than those of a Needler, hit the Enforcer and tore it apart. Behind the two air vehicles, two Phantoms closed in.

"Dammit," Weiss said. She looked behind her and saw that the Gondola had already reached them. She sighed. "Okay. Ruby, Chief, go take out the Prophet. We'll hold off the Covenant here."

One Sentinel used its beam to cut through the Banshee, only to be shot down by an incoming Phantom.

"But Weiss!"

"Just go. Trust me, we got this." Weiss replied, drawing Myrtenaster.

Ruby closed her eyes and nodded. "Okay. Please, don't die."

"Do I look like I'm about to die?" Weiss asked.

"No, no you're not," Ruby replied smiling and followed the Chief onto the Gondola.

Weiss looked, as one Phantom dropped off multiple Elites. The Sentinels went in to attack the Covenant forces alongside the few Marines and partially combined to strengthen their beams. "Okay, let's dance!"

* * *

Ruby watched as Plasma and gunfire erupted in the distance, alongside a few Sentinel beams cutting through the air. If it was possible, then she would go in and help Weiss. But she was right. She could hold that position alongside the Marines and Sentinels. And taking out the Prophet was far more important.

 _"How's it going?"_ Miranda suddenly asked over the comms.

"Pretty good so far," Ruby replied. "We're approaching the main structure. Regret's as good as dead."

 _"Roger that. I'm as close to the library as I can get. There's a lot of chaos going on here. I'll keep you posted."_

Ruby nodded, shutting off her comm, and used Crescent Rose to zoom into the enemy position. She took out the defenders, enabling them to easily step onto the last structure.

She was about to mentally prepare herself for a probably hard battle, as weird sounds came from above. She looked up and felt her jaw fall to the ground. Dozens, no, hundreds of Covenant ships were jumping out of Slipspace, filling up the entire sky. And alongside them, a weird, almost mushroom-like object hovered in the sky, dwarfing all of the surrounding ships.

"That's the largest Covenant fleet I've ever seen," Cortana mentioned. "The largest anyone's ever seen."

"Let's go. We have to finish this before they can stop us." Ruby said, dashing forward into the structure. She cut down a Grunt with her Scythe, while the Chief fired at the Honor Guards, forcing them into cover and draining their shields, before throwing a Grenade.

Once inside, they went up a ramp, and found themselves in a big room, full of Unggoy and Honor Guards. Below them was their objective: The Prophet of Regret.

Ruby had to admit, he looked even worse in flesh. The creature sitting on the hovering throne was incredibly thin and lanky, with a long neck. His skin was wrinkly and hung down from his neck and arms. He was covered in ceremonial purple clothes, fitting for a Prophet Hierarch.

"Guards! Remove this vermin from my sight!" The Prophet yelled with an irritating voice.

A few Honor Guards came up to them. "Chief, go and deal with Regret. I'll cover you." Ruby said, dashing forward.

She jumped onto the shoulders of one Honor Guard, and shot him in the head, killing him instantly. The other two started shooting, and one hit her in the chest. She felt her Aura drain immensely and jumped behind a small railing.

Ruby saw a few Grunts coming up behind the Elites, trying to get past them. She took the shot and pierced the Methane Tank of one Grunt, and the resulting explosion threw one of the Sangheili down from the balcony while draining the shields of the other one.

She shot a second time, using her last bullet to take out the Elite. The Grunts started to panic, and ran away, out of the structure.

Ruby nodded satisfied and looked over the railing. The Elite that fell down had a bad landing, breaking his neck on impact. Well, that's what Ruby guessed. After all, the only thing she saw was his dead body, the head bent into a position it probably wasn't able to normally.

However, the more interesting thing was the fight between the Chief and the Prophet. The throne of the San Shyuum had a built-in beam cannon, which he more than gladly used on the Chief.

The Spartan was too fast though and dodged the rather slow beam. He jumped up into the air and shoved the Prophet out of his throne. The chair fell down far away.

Regret was still alive though and tried to stand up. Ruby had to admit, it was kinda sad. The Prophet was barely able to stand on his short, skinny legs. He was shivering, partially from his own weight, and partially out of fear.

He reached into his clothes, pulling out a Plasma Pistol. Not that it mattered. The Chief took his Battle Rifle, and finished the fight with one burst of bullets, hitting the Prophet's chest. He let out a cry of agony, collapsed, and a pool of purple blood appearing around him.

It was finished. The Prophet was dead. Ruby let out a sigh of relief. Maybe this was enough to stop this war. The moment of relief was shortlived though, as Cortana decided to immediately interrupt it.

"Bad news, the Phantoms are turning around. The fleet is preparing to fire on _our_ position. We need to get out of here!"

Ruby quickly looked back at the Chief, both nodding to each other, before running outside. Above them, one ship had broken off the fleet, and a bright light appeared at the bottom of the ship. The Chief started running, quickly followed by Ruby.

They jumped down a ledge, and continued fleeing, as the ship fired. The air around them heated up immensely, as the Covenant ship glassed the temple. Ruby took a deep breath, as she and the Chief jumped down into the water.

She opened her eyes and saw that the Chief was sinking down. Ruby tried to swim towards him, before stopping in shock. A large tentacle came out from the depths, wrapping around the Chief, as a deep voice echoed around. Ruby was unable to place where it was coming from, almost as if it was coming from everywhere at once.

"This is not your grave..."

Ruby sped up, trying to save the Chief. This couldn't be. Was that why the defense forces were so riled up? Because the Flood already got out? Did the Covenant release it?

She felt something wrapping around her legs and midsection, and looked down, only to see two tentacles made out of a sickish green and brown biomass.

Ruby felt herself losing consciousness as the air in her lungs drained, and she got pulled into the depths of the lake.

"But you are welcome in it..."

* * *

 **And Chapter 26 is here, officially the longest Chapter up to this point. But well, that's what happens when I put two rather long levels into one Chapter.**

 **To the new Grimm: The 'Burung Bom' is, for once, not based on a real or mythical creature, but on a monster called 'Bazelgeuse' from the game Monster Hunter World. And yeah, it's a pretty strong Grimm. The name is also not the real name of it, that will come up later, just like the reason it's able to defeat Sentinels and Enforcers.  
**

 **The other one, the Cliff Drake, is based on the cliff racers from Morrowind, as well as, well, dragons.  
**

 **Also, a small announcement for the next Chapter, it will not be from the view of the Arbiter. It will be from Jaunes and Pyrrhas view. Otherwise, it would just be a normal retelling of the levels.**

 **Finally, I want to say that, after Halo 2 is finished, there's going to be a small hiatus. (Not a long one, it will just take a bit longer than usual until the new Chapter comes out.) I want to go back to the older Chapters and take another look at them since there are a few things I'm not happy with.**

 **But now to replies:**

 **Tronmaster5704: Oh, they will. Though the real horrifying Flood stuff is going to be during Halo 3.**

 **Edrap: As far as I know, the Covenant only thought it was Forerunner in origin. I looked into it a bit, and the Forerunners were created fifteen million years ago. However, the asteroid might be Precursor in origin. Honestly, though, I kinda dislike the idea that everything in Earth's history was thanks to some alien sea scorpions.**

 **PhoenixClaw2128: Thanks. I'm pretty sure the Chief would be unstoppable, especially with a strong Semblance.**

 **Sau1 43: Thanks.**

 **Guest: Thanks. Took a while to come up with it.**

 **ChappieTheRobot: As a costume, yes. She wouldn't be able to make an actual armor. Even the Spartan costume was just supposed to be a shirt and pants with plastic parts glued onto them.**

 **Bloodclan: No, thanks.**

 **kokob5: I have no idea. I guess roleplaying.**

 **John Lanford: I know. I hate the idea of Harems. (Though there's probably someplace in the Haloverse where it's not looked down upon, considering that there are over 800 human colonies, all with a bit of their own culture.) Still, doesn't mean that Jaune should have a Harem.**  
 **I think a reason why there are this many Harem stories about him is that he is a character people can easily insert themselves into. After all, he is the most normal human out of the RWBY characters.  
**

 **Guest: Like I said previously, I have no idea. It's a bit annoying, but nothing big.**

 **pittsacee: Well, here it is  
**

 **red october700: Ruby's birthday is canon. Miles confirmed that in a tweet after the chibi episode released. The Manga is apparently canon until it's not. The general consensus is that its canon, until the show says otherwise. So as long as they don't say that Penny cannot turn into a plane, its canon.**  
 **Don't worry about asking twice. I sometimes forget stuff too. However, I don't think you ever asked the same thing twice.**

 **ChronoHyperion: Holy crap you put a lot of thought into this. I'll definitely work those Grimm in, they sound awesome. As for the Monitors, the Installation on Remnant is actually just a single room without a Monitor. It was built in rush, so there was no time to install one there.  
I was already planning on that role for the Geist. But yeah, ship's are OP. However, they can possess multiple objects. So they could possess a tank with one arm and something else with the other one. The Seer's a good idea though, like some kind of Grimm Engineer.**

 ** ** ** ** ** ** **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**************


	27. Library, the second one

Chapter 27: Library, the second one

 **Coelest System, Installation 05, Air above Library  
Pelican Hangar Bay  
November 2; 2552**

The Pelican shook heavily as it tried to dodge the incoming Plasma Fire and Grimm. Jaune had a hard time holding onto his seat in the cockpit. He was riding in a Pelican with Johnson, while another Sergeant was commanding the second dropship. A third one was already bringing in troops to secure the area.

For some reason, this place seemed like hell. At least from what Jaune saw through the window. The environment was cold and harsh as if the biosphere systems of the Ring failed here. Sentinels and Grimm were fighting in the air, their numbers even higher than the Covenant.

Speaking of the Covenant, their Holy City, High Charity, was hanging high in the sky, together with a massive fleet. It made him incredibly wary, knowing just how many soldiers were up there. However, they haven't yet tried to engage the UNSC-forces, so their attention was probably focused elsewhere.

"Was the Library back on the other Ring this cold too?" Johnson asked.

"I don't know. I wasn't there." Jaune replied and looked towards the troop bay. "Pyrrha? Was the other library this cold too?"

"I dunno! I only was inside!" Pyrrha yelled from the bay.

"Very well. Now that the _In Amber Clad_ is about to land at the library, we have to make sure that the LZ is secure. Luckily, those Sentinels don't seem to mind."

"One less thing to deal with. How long until we hit the ground?"

"Two minutes. Get ready."

Jaune nodded and left the cockpit. "Okay, we're going out in two minutes."

"Can't wait to give those Covie bastards a taste of their own medicine." One of the Marines said.

"Calm down. We don't know what's waiting for us down there. Only that there are Grimm and Covenant forces. And we don't know if entering the library might trigger the defense systems to attack us."

"It didn't last time." Pyrrha pointed out. "Then again, we also haven't seen anything of this Installation's monitor yet..."

"Okay, we're about to touch down! Get ready!" Johnson yelled, as the hangar bay opened. Jaune grabbed his pistol and Crocea Mors, and stood next to Pyrrha, in front of the Marines.

Before them laid a cold, frozen mountain range, full of Forerunner structures. A few broken Wraiths were scattered in the area, speaking of a recent battle. Even the burning remains of an Enforcer were lying atop a close peak.

"Good thing we came this late. Gives us less stuff to worry about." Jaune muttered.

They looked up as the sounds of engines closed in. Three Pelicans came by, one carrying a Warthog and the other two carrying one Scorpion tank each. The heavy artillery was here, ready to blow through the Covenant's front lines.

After dropping the vehicles and more Marines, the Pelicans left to bring in more vehicles. Eventually, the small army was complete, consisting of eight Warthogs with different turrets and three Scorpion-tanks. More than enough to clear an LZ for the _In Amber Clad_.

Jaune, who was leading the way alongside Pyrrha and Johnson, hopped into one of the Scorpions. His Neural Implant, which was a pain to put into his head thanks to his Aura, connected with the controls of the vehicle, though he felt a slight interference from his Aura.

Nothing major though, the only effect it had were a few distortions here and there. The tests he did on the ship proved that everything was still going how it should.

With that, the small army started to move through the icy battlefield. The tanks made up the core of the formation, while the Warthogs provided cover at the flanks with the help of the infantry.

It didn't take long for the Covenant to notice, and a Wraith, with the help of two Ghosts, left a nearby tunnel. They started shooting but were ripped apart by the combined fire of the Scorpions.

"Something's wrong," Pyrrha said, using a comm channel to speak with Jaune and Johnson. "There isn't much Covenant here."

"They are probably fighting the Sentinels," Jaune replied as he looked onto the radar inside the cockpit. It showed a hostile object in the air. "Hostile on six o'clock. In the air!"

The Gauss Warthog aimed upwards and shot a medium-sized Nevermore out of the sky. It dissipated before it even hit the ground.

"Yeah, but they still put up heavy resistance over at the Prophet, from what we got from Weiss."

"Speaking of Weiss, did you manage to get in contact again?" Jaune asked worriedly. After Keyes spoke last with them, it became impossible to reach them. No matter if they tried to call Weiss, Ruby, Cortana, the Chief or anyone else that was with them.

Since then, Pyrrha tried to call them multiple times, using everything from the comm channels to Chatter, a planet-wide form of the internet. But nothing came through.

"No, nothing."

"Damn it." Jaune sighed.

"I'm sure they're okay, Jaune. The Covenant fleet probably just fried their electronics or something." Pyrrha replied though she sounded a worried herself.

"Right," Jaune said and shook his head to get his mind back at the task at hand. "There aren't many Grimm here either."

"You don't-"

"Wraith!" One of the tanks yelled and shot into a tunnel. Purple flames erupted inside. For a second, Jaune could've sworn something was fleeing from the wreckage. Probably a Grunt or Jackal.

"How much further?" Pyrrha asked. The large complex became ever larger on the horizon, already covering most of the sky.

"A few hundred meters," Johnson replied. "Captain? How's it up there?"

 _"The Covenant hasn't attacked us yet. We managed to get into position, and will land as soon as you give the sign."_

"So... Why hasn't the Covenant done anything?" Jaune asked after he shot a Ghost with his tank. The wreckage flew through the air, falling down a pit and disappearing into some greenish mist.

"I don't know," Pyrrha replied, and paused for a second. "I've got a bad feeling about all this."

The way further to the library was covered in wrecks of both Covenant vehicle and Forerunner Sentinels. Often, the snow was burned away by the heat of the plasma and fire, revealing Forerunner alloys under it.

However, there was one thing that put the human forces on edge: The lack of bodies. Not a single dead Elite, Grunt or whatever was to be found anywhere.

However, it made breaking through the Covenant lines towards the library much easier. Thus, after an hour, they reached a large gate that led into the inner parts of the complex. Jaune and Pyrrha jumped out of their vehicles and approached a small panel at the side of the gate.

"You know how to use it?" Jaune asked, looking over his friend's shoulder.

"Yeah, like an instinct." She replied, while her fingers moved over the panel. "I just hope that I don't break anything on accident."

Thankfully, the door opened only a few seconds later. Jaune was about to walk back to his tank, as a Ghost suddenly sped out of the inner ring. As it sped past him, he was able to spot weird, green and brown growings on it.

The Ghost crashed into one of the tanks before anyone could do anything, and the growing exploded, releasing dozens of Infection Forms.

"Flood!" Pyrrha yelled, and everyone opened fire on the Infection Forms. One got to a Warthog and quickly infected the driver.

The other two Marines jumped out, but the passenger was pulled back in by a tentacle. It stabbed through his chest, infecting him.

The new Combat Form climbed on the back and opened fire on a few Marines, the Chaingun tearing through the humans. They quickly took cover behind one of the Scorpions.

"They can control vehicles?!" Jaune asked, reloading his Magnum.

"Wait, I have an idea." Pyrrha looked over the threads of the tank and used her Semblance to move the barrel of the machine gun. She bent it down, and the last few bullets hit the driver Flood, killing it.

"We still got a lot more hostiles here." A Marine yelled, firing upon a few infected Marines.

"All right. We're moving inside." Jaune said over the radio. "Once we're in, we'll try to close the door."

"Got it," Johnson replied. The tanks and Warthogs started moving, except for on Scorpion. Biomass was growing out of the hatch, and it started to fire at the human forces.

"Dang it, we can't evacuate like this," Pyrrha yelled.

"Leave it to us." One of the Gauss hogs moved in between the small army and the tank and started shooting. "We'll distract it!"

Jaune nodded, and they ran inside, where Pyrrha immediately used the panel to shut the door.

"Dammit. Shit." Jaune cursed, kicking against one of the remaining two tanks, before jumping up and down due to the pain in his toes.

"Why are the Flood free?" Pyrrha asked, looking at Johnson.

The Sergeant shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe the Covenant _is_ dumber than we thought."

"But that explains a lot," Jaune said, sitting down on the tracks of the tank. "Why there are that many Sentinels here. Why the Covenant is having those problems."

"Yeah. I'd guess that wall is to keep the Flood in. It must have gotten out of quarantine somehow."

"Maybe the Grimm? I thought it odd how much of them were nearby."

"Well, doesn't matter now." Johnson interrupted. "We've got to get that Index, or we are all going to die."

"Right. But we have to look out for the Flood too from now on." Pyrrha said, jumping back into the Warthog.

Jaune, now without a tank, manned the cannon of one of the Warthogs. He looked back at the gate once again, silently saying his thanks to those that sacrificed themselves, before looking forward. "All right, Panzer vor!"

"Wrong Military! And century!" Johnson replied.

The troop started moving again, with the foot soldiers on the lookout for any Flood forms. This time, the group staid closer together, using a tight formation to keep every side in check.

Whenever something attacked, they immediately shot it down before it could reach them. From time to time, even Sentinels helped out as they flew over them. Luckily, the Forerunner defenses were focusing on the Flood and Covenant, ignoring the human forces.

"I really, really don't like this," Jaune muttered.

"Me neither," Pyrrha replied, shutting a hole in a wall with her Semblance. "The Flood seems way to organized."

"They probably got another one of these damn Hivemind things," Johnson said. "Like the one you destroyed back on the other ring."

"Still, I don't think the Flood was organized back then. They still acted like feral... well, Zombies."

"Then finding and destroying that mushroom brain is the next thing we have to do after securing the index," Johnson said.

"A.K.A destroy the ring. Got it." Jaune replied. It worked back then, so why wouldn't it work again? With luck, it could even take out a good portion of the Covenant fleet.

The group finally arrived at the entrance to the library. The area behind the gate was mostly inside, with a single hole in the ceiling.

The Covenant had taken position inside, but the few Brutes and Grunts were quickly dealt with.

"Captain? LZ is secure." Johnson yelled into the radio.

Above them, the _In Amber Clad_ appeared, quickly filling out the hole. It barely fit inside, accidentally breaking off a bit of Forerunner alloy while landing. The snow under it was melted and blown away by the landing thrusters.

"All right. From here on, we'll continue on foot." Johnson explained. "Get inside for a short maintenance and refuel, and then take a position to defend this area."

"Right. We'll make this our headquarters for now." Jaune added, looking at the soldiers. "We should be able to defend it easily. There's only one real entrance, and neither the Flood or the Covenant can open it."

"Sergeant?" Miranda interrupted, stepping out of the opened hangar.

"Captain!" Everyone there saluted.

"How far away from the index are we?"

"It should be a few more meters inside," Pyrrha explained. "However, it might take a while to get through there, if this is anything like the one on Alpha Halo."

Jaune watched as the Warthogs and Scorpions went inside for refueling. The hangar door closed behind them.

"Langley! Take your squad and secure the area!" Johnson yelled.

A few Marines saluted. "Sir, yes, Sir!" They took their rifles and left through the main gate.

"McKenzie! Perez! You'll come with us. We need someone to keep those Aliens of our back."

"Hey, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Aren't the people not born on Earth technically Aliens as well?"

He shrugged in response. "I guess."

"And how are we going to get the Index?" Pyrrha looked at Johnson and Keyes. "Last time, the Monitor had to activate it. We don't have one this time."

"I bet he'll come around when we're there. It's probably not going to ignore the Flood outbreak." Jaune explained. At least he hoped so. After all, the Outbreak seemed somewhat large, so the Monitor could've already lost.

"And where do we need to go?" Pyrrha asked, looking at the few doors leading out of the room.

"Well, we came from there..." Jaune pointed at the large gate. "So I'd say we have to go this way." He pointed at a door opposite of the gate.

"Let's go then. My snot's starting to freeze here." Johnson said, leading the way. The others followed him and went through the door.

* * *

 **Coelest System, Installation 05, LZ  
UNSC Stalwart-class light Fregade** _ **"In Amber Clad"**_ **, Vehicle Maintenance Bay  
November 2; 2552**

"All right, drive into the left lane." One of the engineers said, trying to bring every Scorpion and Warthog into position for a refill.

The bay was busy, as the vehicles had to be refueled and repaired quickly to be put back into battle. One Engineer, operating a Cyclops, brought a large package of ammunition and started filling up one of the scorpions, using the Mech to easily slide the heavy shells inside.

"I said left lane." The Engineer repeated, as one of the Scorpions suddenly stopped moving. He kicked the side, but the only effect it had was a stubbed toe, and a spike of pain rushing through his body. Thus, he climbed on top and knocked on the hatch. "Are you okay in there?"

No answer came, even after a minute. He called the Cyclops over, and it tore the hatch open...

Only to be attacked by a Flood Form. It dug into the cockpit, taking over the driver. "Goddammit!" The Engineer grabbed a communicator to warn the ship but was hit by the fist of the infected Cyclops.

The impact broke every bone of his body and flung the tattered corpse into the wall. More Infection forms poured out of the tank and started to infect everyone in the vehicle bay.

* * *

 **Coelest System, Installation 05, Library  
Gondola  
November 2; 2552**

The gondola that connected the LZ with the inner parts of the library started moving with heavy shakes. Jaune guessed that it moved alongside some sort of gravity rope, as there was no other possibility in sight.

"You know, at least we're save from the Flood on here," Johnson muttered, looking down into the abyss below them.

"By the way..." Jaune said, looking at Keyes. "Once we have the Index and are back in the air, then what? We can't take on the entire Covenant Fleet."

"We'll fall back behind a nearby planet until the UNSC arrives. Then, we will end this war."

"Can the UNSC destroy the Fleet?" Pyrrha asked.

"No, but we only have to sneak a NOVA Bomb inside the capital. That should incinerate the entire Covenant Fleet."

"That would probably end the war, wouldn't it?" Jaune murmured. It didn't sound too bad, ending the whole war at once. However, what if the UNSC didn't bring one along? Did the-

"We've got a problem!" One of the Marines yelled from the floor under them, interrupting Jaune's thoughts.

"What is it?"

"Flood's coming in!" Okay, that was a problem. Jaune immediately ran down alongside Pyrrha and stared at a hole, through which dozens of Flood Forms were pouring in.

"Crap. Pyrrha? Can you find anything to block that hole with?"

"Maybe. You hold them off here." Pyrrha replied, and ran away.

Jaune pulled out Crocea Mors and got ready to slice through the Flood. Luckily for him, the Flood seemed to be vulnerable to weapons like swords. Their dead biomass made it easy to cut through them, especially with a sword enhanced with Aura.

The first few combat forms charged at him, and he stabbed through one with his sword. The second one got a hit on his shield, pushing him away a few meters. Those things were still incredibly strong. It got ready to get in another hit but fell over as a swarm of bullets tore through the upper body of the former Elite.

Johnson, Miranda, and the other Marines came down and opened fire on the hole in hopes of suppressing the Flood.

"Boy, get up there," Johnson said, looking at Jaune. "Pyrrha found something and needs your help."

"Okay." Jaune nodded and went up the ramp. Pyrrha was kneeling down in a corner, looking at a pile of garbage. "What is this?"

"I dunno. I found it here. Look, it's like some sort of humanoid." She pointed at a piece of metal that looked distinctly like a human head. Overall, the pile of junk looked like it stemmed from some sort of humanoid robot.

"Can we use it?"

"I think so. Well, not the stuff itself, but this thing." Pyrrha pulled out a long stick from the rubble. It looked like some sort of advanced stave, with blue hard light as a blade. An old Forerunner weapon, Jaune guessed. Then this piece of rubble was probably part of the ring's defenses.

"Uhh... And how are we going to use it to block the hole?"

"Well, we can't cut Forerunner alloys with our weapons." Pyrrha stuck the stave into the ground next to her and started drawing a large rectangle. "But Forerunner weaponry... There." The outlines of the rectangle glow a bright white, before it fell down on the floor below, squishing a Flood Form. "Come on."

Pyrrha and Jaune jumped down, where she immediately used her Semblance on the piece of rubble she just cut out. She threw it into the hole, and then shoved it in deeper, getting it stuck inside. The Flood banged on it, but it didn't move an inch.

"Phew, good work." Johnson sighed, reloading his Assault Rifle. "Nice Stave."

"Thanks." Pyrrha swirled it around a bit, trying to get a feel for it. "You know, I think I'll keep it."

"You think this will hold?" Jaune asked, leaning towards the metal sheet. A loud bang echoed through the gondola as a Flood pounced on it, causing Jaune to scream and jump back.

"Everyone, take a position in one corner of the gondola. We have to make sure no other Flood can get on here." Miranda ordered. Thus, Jaune walked up to the right front corner and looked into the distance.

It looked like another gondola had started in the distance, and he wondered who it could be. The Covenant? Flood? Marines? He shook his head. That wasn't something they could deal with now. He looked down and noticed the severe lack of a bottom under them. This pit had to go down hundreds of meters, if not thousands. For a second, he swore something moved down there. Probably just Sentinels.

"Hey, son." He looked behind him, as he heard the sound of metal boots on the ground. Johnson was walking up to him and stopped next to Jaune. "How's the view?"

"Well, another gondola has started, but nothing else."

"Another one? That's unsettling. Guess the Covies have made their way here."

"Sergeant? Why aren't you watching the other corners?" Jaune asked, still keeping his eyes locked on the other gondola. He noticed a few blue lights flying through the air, evidence of a fight involving Plasma.

"All are occupied, and I wanted to ask ya something."

"And what?"

"It's about your sword." Johnson pointed at Crocea Mors. "You know that there, apparently existed one in our world with the same name?"

"Huh? Really?" Jaune looked at him in surprise.

"Yep. Crocea Mors, the sword of the Roman Dictator Gaius Julius Caesar. From the day you mentioned it, I wondered why it had that name."

"Well, it's an heirloom. I got it from my grandfather, he got it from his dad and so on. I don't know where it came from."

"Huh." Johnson nodded. "Do you think you are the first people to travel between Remnant and our world?"

It took Jaune a second to comprehend the question. "You mean..."

"Yeah. There are many legends in human history. I wonder if Remnant might have something to do with it. Hell, maybe your Crocea Mors is the real deal."

"That... could be. The cave we used was opened by a mudslide, but that doesn't mean no one else ever found it." But if that was the case, how did a Sword get from Earth to Remnant?

"And there's something else. All of you remind me of someone. Your friend over there." Johnson pointed towards the other side of the gondola, where Pyrrha was keeping watch. "She reminds me of Achilles. Ruby? She's like Red Riding Hood. And you?"

"Me?"

"You remind me of Jeanne D'Arc. A legendary holy maiden that fought in the hundred year war, but was executed by her very own country. Jaune Arc, Jeanne D'Arc... I wonder if that really is a coincidence."

"Wait, what are you-"

"Don't take it too literally, it was just a thought. But, there was something else. It's about Miss Nikos."

"Pyrrha?"

"Yeah, you know she's got an eye on you, right?"

Jaune jumped back in surprise. "What? Are you serious?"

Johnson looked at the blonde and raised an eyebrow. "You serious? You never noticed?"

"No. No, I didn't."

"Are you interested in her?"

Jaune started scratching his chin in thought. "I dunno. I never really thought about it, except maybe that one time during the dance... To think that she had feelings for me..."

"Well, go and talk to her. Trust me, it won't be a problem. Either it works out, or not. Just go." The gondola started shaking slightly, as it stopped. "But that has to wait it seems. We're here."

Everyone quickly stepped off the gondola, onto the inner part of the library. "Yep, this seems familiar," Pyrrha muttered, walking next to Jaune.

To him, it was... awkward, to say the least. Should he just ask her? But if she says no, then their whole relationship would worsen, maybe even ending their friendship. But if Johnson's right, then just ignoring it could have the same, if not worse effects.

He poked her shoulder, causing Pyrrha to turn around. "Yes?"

"Hey, listen. There's something I wanted to-"

"Flood!" One of the Marines yelled, shooting into a hallway. Gurgling was heard inside, and an infected Sangheili fell to the ground.

"Uh, what did you want to say?"

"Well, I had a talk with Johnson, and..." Jaune looked Pyrrha in the eyes. "Well, he told me that my sword has the same name like a that of a famous emperor!"

"Uh, okay?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "Come on, we have to secure the index. It looks like we're on the right floor already. Thank the gods."

Pyrrha walked ahead, while Jaune slapped himself. "Jaune, what the hell?" He sighed, before following them.

"McKenzie! Perez! Hold this position!" Johnson said, putting the two Marines into the hallway in front of the index room.

He, Miranda, Pyrrha, and Jaune entered the center. Rubble from Sentinels was scattered all around, with green biomass growing in some corners. The room was dark and dusty, the only real light being the green hue from the middle.

There it was, the index. Inside a small, grey container that constantly shifted around, hovering over a dark abyss.

"That is it," Pyrrha muttered. "The Index."

"Okay, let's get it." Keyes was about to walk towards it, as Pyrrha stopped her.

"Wait, I've got this." Pyrrha moved a metal plate from the ground, and held it over the edge, creating a small bridge. The casing around the index opened as Keyes approached, allowing her to take the T-shaped artifact.

"McKenzie? Perez? Where's our exit?" Johnson yelled, turning towards the entrance. However, no reply came. "You hear me, Marines?" He waited a few seconds, before turning towards the other three. "We got trouble."

Jaune and Pyrrha nodded, grabbing their weapons. Pyrrha, instead of taking her usual spear, took the stave. Johnson walked forward, searching with the flashlight on his Battle Rifle, as heavy footsteps came in from the side. He spun around and fired at an Elite clad in silver armor.

The shields of the Alien flashed, before it knocked the gun out of his hands, and picked Johnson up by the shoulders.

"Forget it!" Pyrrha yelled, jumping into the fray. She scratched the Elite with her Stave, causing him to throw Johnson away. The Sangheili activated an Energy Sword and looked Pyrrha in the eyes.

"So you are one of the humans I've heard about?"

"Seems like we're making news in the Covenant," Pyrrha replied, before dashing forward. The Elite parried her first strike and the second one. Jaune wanted to get into the fight but was unsure how.

At this point, the opponents were trading blows with a speed he could barely keep up with. Luckily, the stave infused with Aura was able to block the strikes with the Plasma Blade, though the heat of it had to give Pyrrha a hard time.

"You are putting up a good fight, human." The Elite said. "I haven't had an even fight against one of you for a long time." He kicked Pyrrha away, but she managed to stay on her feet, even if she flew back a few meters.

"Same. You seem to be incredibly strong."

The Elite halted for a second as if he was surprised to be honored. Not that it mattered much to him, as he immediately rushed towards Pyrrha.

This time, Jaune was able to help. He ran in, bashing the Elite into the side with his shield. The Sangheili stumbled a step to the side, before trying to strike down at Jaune. He rolled to the side, the blade only scratching his arm.

The boy got back on his feet, and pressed a small button on his sword handle, enabling the plasma blades. The Elite looked surprised. "So you've even disgraced our weapons?"

"First of all, I wasn't the one who did that," Jaune replied, before looking at Pyrrha. They nodded to each other and charged the Sangheili.

He pulled out a Plasma Rifle, and shot at both Huntsmen, forcing them to stop their advance, and take cover behind a bit of rubble. Seeing his chance, the Elite jumped back in with his sword, narrowly missing them. Pyrrha thrusted her Stave at the Alien, but he managed to catch it, and twist it out of Pyrrha's hands.

The Sangheili looked at the stave for a second before throwing it towards the hole in the ground.

Jaune tried to hit the Elite's back with Crocea Mors but stopped as a blade was stuck in his side. It didn't hurt. No, it did, but the adrenaline numbed all the pain.

"JAUNE!" Pyrrha yelled before the Elite grabbed her by the neck. He pulled his sword out of Jaune, causing him to fall to the ground and hold the wound. There was no blood coming out, as the heat of the Plasma burned the sides. It was more of an instinct.

He looked up, as Pyrrha used her Semblance to throw a piece of metal at the Elite. It hit the side of his head, and the shield flared up. This was enough to have him let go of Pyrrha.

The girl immediately grabbed her Spear, and stabbed the Sangheili into his guts, breaking his shield. The Elite roared in pain, before grabbing the spear. He twisted it, bending Milò in the middle, and the punched Pyrrha in the face.

"Get down!" Miranda yelled and opened fire on the Elite. He immediately grabbed his swords, using it to block bullets as he retreated behind rubble.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled again, running towards him.

"Ugh, I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Pyrrha said, and pulled a small canister out of her pocket. She sprayed the biofoam on the wound.

"Don't relax. We're not out of it yet-" Miranda was interrupted, as some sort of static surrounded her body. She flew through the air, towards the entrance, and directly into the arms of...

A massive Brute, larger than the ones Pyrrha or Jaune had seen before. He had grey hair and a mohawk on his head. More peculiar was his weapon though. It was, without a doubt, a Gravity Hammer, though it looked a lot older.

"No!" Pyrrha threw her Shield at the Brute. It cut into his shoulder, but that did not face the Jiralhanae. Instead, it started laughing.

"Tartarus!" The Elite stepped back out of the rubble, his shield recharged. "Please, leave these humans to me. They have put up a fair fight. It would be a shame, not to mention unhonorable, to abandon this battle."

The Brute barked. "Very well. But make it quick, Arbiter."

The Sangheili apparently named Arbiter, pulled his sword again, and turned towards Pyrrha and Jaune. He grabbed Milò and threw it back towards Pyrrha.

She grabbed it, and stood up, next to Jaune. "All right, Round 2."

Both sides charged at each other, with Pyrrha being the one to take the first strike. She slashed at the Arbiter's knees but was blocked by his sword. Just as hoped. Jaune jumped up, and let his sword down towards the Elite.

It cut into the Elite's shoulder, the Plasma immediately breaking through the shield. However, the moment of victory was shortlived, as the Elite managed to get a hold on the sword's handle. He pulled it out of his shoulder, and delivered a kick into Jaune's abdomen, pressing the air out of his lungs, and breaking his Aura.

Jaune flung through the air, towards the abyss. He had to hold onto something, or else this was the end. Trying to find anything, he reached around... And grabbed the Stave. Nothing to hold him up.

He flew over the edge but managed to lodge the stave into the wall, roughly ten meters below the edge. It took all his strength to keep a hold on it. At least it was tightly lodged into the wall.

But he had to get up, to help Pyrrha. The arrival of the Brutes made it even worse. He tried to pull himself up, as he heard a female voice scream. That was Pyrrha. Crap, he had to get up fast.

"Excellent work, Arbiter. The hierarchs will be pleased." He heard the gravely voice of the Jiralhanae, Tartarus, echoing through the room.

"Still, the Icon is my responsibility." The Elite replied. Jaune still tried pulling himself up.

"Was your responsibility. Now it is mine." Jaune managed to get his shoulders on top of the stave. It still held tightly in the wall. "A bloody fate awaits you and the rest of your incompetent race." Wait, what was that? Jaune stopped, listening to the voice of the Jiralhanae. "And I, Tartarus, Chieftain of the Brutes will send you to it."

"When the Prophets learn of this, they will take your head."

"When they learn?" The Jiralhane chuckled. "Fool, they ordered me to." Jaune's eyes widened. Betrayal? Did... Did the Covenant betray the Elites? A loud thumb erupted on top, and only a second later, the Arbiter flew over the edge. He managed to grab onto Jaune and looked up at the boy.

Jaune could easily see the confusion in the Elite's eyes. It looked like someone who had just lost everything.

But there was no time to think about it. The additional weight proved too much, and the stave broke out of the wall. Now he and the Arbiter were falling down into the darkness.

However, there were only a few things Jaune could think about. Pyrrha. What happened to her? Why... Why did he never tell her? Those were the only thing that went through his mind as the darkness swallowed him and the Arbiter.

* * *

 **Coelest System, Installation 05, Inner structure  
Unknown Chambers  
November 2; 2552**

Ruby opened her eyes and took a deep breath. The water was gone. Only air. Oxygen. She took a few more deep breaths, savoring the air filling her lungs. For a few moments, she thought she'd drown. However, that relief quickly vanished, as she noticed that she was moving.

Not by her own accord, no. She was dragged. Dragged by some sort of tentacle wrapped around her legs. This was bad. Really, really bad. And, as she quickly realized, it was about to get even worse. She was lifted into the air, next to the Masterchief, who too had been caught in the Flood's grasp.

Right, the Flood. It took Ruby a second to realize it, but there was no doubt. Whatever caught and admittedly saved her, was the Flood. Many thoughts were rushing through her head, but none had time to really matter, as some sort of giant, plant-like creature rose out of a pit.

It looked like the front of a snake, the mouth possessing large, razor-sharp teeth. There were no eyes either. Only a giant, hungry mouth. The whole thing was made up of dead biomass, fostering down here for who knows how long. Thus, the stench was horrible and made her eyes tear up.

"What... is that?" Cortana muttered, seemingly taken aback just as much as the Huntress. She couldn't see the Chief's face, but he must've been just as scared.

"I...? I am a monument to all your sins." The creature spoke. It sounded like hundreds of voices crudely mixed together, like a stream of agony coming out of its mouth. Yet, it seemed soothing, like a wise, old being, with enough force to make the air itself shutter.

Two more tentacles came down from the ceiling, one holding a struggling Elite in silver armor, and the other one... "Jaune?!" Ruby yelled.

He looked down at her and smiled in relief. "Ruby! Thank God you're okay!" He looked at the giant monstrosity and nearly gagged. "What... What the hell..."

"It's the Leader of the Flood." The Elite explained. "We believed the gods had destroyed all of them... It must have formed afterward. I believe translated in your language, the term for it would be 'Gravemind'."

"This one is machine and nerve, and has his mind concluded." The Gravemind held up the Chief and turned him around a bit as if it was inspecting the Spartan. "This one is but flesh and faith, and is the more deluded." It heaved the Elite, before two more tentacles wrapped around both Ruby and Jaune. "These two..." It seemed to hesitate.

"Does...Does he know?" Ruby muttered.

Suddenly, the whole creature shuttered, as if it was amused. "Remnant."

"He- He knows of Remnant." Jaune gasped. "How-?"

Tiny, thin tentacles came out of the Gravemind and wrapped themselves around the heads of everyone in the room.

"Kill me or release me, parasite. But do not waste my time with talk or games." The Elite spat out.

"There is much talk. An I have listened. Through rock and metal and time. Now I shall talk, and you shall listen!" Ruby's vision began to blur, as the entire world unfolded around her, turning into green fields, then rocky mountains, then bustling cities.

She instantly understood. Whatever that tentacle was that wrapped around their head, it was not there to infect them, but rather to show them something.

* * *

 **Here is, after a rather long time (which I sincerely apologize for), Chapter 27.**

 **With the first appearance of the Arbiter, I'd say that we entered the second part of Halo 1-3. Now stuff's really going down, thanks to the return of the Flood.I've also decided to put part of the Gravemind mission in here, as the next Chapter will mostly be a Flashback, and I thought it to be better to start it off directly into the Flashback.  
**

 **Now about the content in this Chapter, it was hard to write. I had to look up what happens during that time, and replay the two Arbiter levels multiple times to get a feel for the rough timeline of events. And, gotta be honest, I'm not quite sure if it came out well enough.**

 **Anyways, now to replies:**

 **Czar Joseph: Yeah, Ruby is one to listen to stuff like that, though she'll be a bit untrustworthy of the Venus Flytrap.**

 **Plasma Dragon 312: With a spear and a sword, of course.**

 **rocketmce: Fair enough. Well, that was already revealed in this Chapter.  
**

 **Sau1 43: Thanks. I agree, there wasn't much of a reaction. That stuff is something I'm pretty bad at.**

 **SMH0217: Oh, you'll get that.**

 **D3rpman1015: While none of them will be directly based off of an MH-Monster, there's one that's based on the same creature the Teostra is based on, the Chinese lion. (Though Teostra apparently is also based upon the Jaguar and Tecciztecatl.)**

 **Steelrain66: Well, that has mostly been addressed in this Chapter. Thanks.**

 **TheFishKing: Ruby would certainly be happy. However, I'll say that she isn't on the ring.**

 **the Composcreator: Thanks. Yep, Jaune's probably the one to put it together with the fastest, alongside Cortana. Also, you got it right, Jaune and Arbiter are going to work together to stop the ring.**  
 **Jaune pulling a Joan (or Jeanne) would be interesting, especially with what Johnson said this Chapter. It's a pretty good idea. I'll think about it.**

 **Guest: Thanks. Yep, was the intention. (Praise be to Google Translate)**

 **Cmedina1: Not going to say anything about that just now. But you're on the right track.**

 **shadyxlr: Thanks. But please don't die.**

 **red october700: Yeah, more viewpoints of the UNSC would be interesting. I'm going to try and make one of the Arbiter Missions from his point of view, as well as the next one from the Masterchief.**  
 **Don't worry about Remnant. There is one Chapter planned that takes place almost entirely there.**  
 **Not exactly. The first nine Chapters retell the Trailers, but the rest are an original plot.**

 **RvB Man: Yes.**

 **Guest: It releases when it's done. However, I'm trying to move into a more regular schedule.**

 **Animeak116: Oh, okay. Got that mixed up. Thanks.**  
 **Yep, that show's disgusting. It's not even the Yaoi part, it's the part about one of the two being a child that's so bad.**  
 **Don't worry about Ruby.**  
 **Trust me, Aura Power Armor will appear later on.**  
 **Destiny monsters as Grimm, huh? Sounds cool. I'll look into it.**

 **Voidseer: No, Remnant and Earth aren't in the same dimension. However, Remnant's also not necessarily in another Universe. And don't forget that the Forerunners were able to somewhat travel between dimensions.**  
 **Fair enough. I'm gonna go back and change that part. Thanks.**

 **Roboman: Don't worry, clicking too fast can happen.**  
 **So, did the conversation stuff you brought up get better? I'd like to hear your thoughts.**  
 **Yes, while the Flood can infect living organisms, that also kills the original hosts. Thus, the Grimm would dissolve. However, we can't say for sure, since we don't know anything about Grimm biology.**

 **Reader: Well, here you go.**

 **Guest: Fucked up schedule, nothing more. There was some stuff I had to deal with personally, as well as other stuff occupying my time. (For example, reading a particular book in preparation for the next Chapter). From now on, everything should resume normally.**

 ** **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth****


	28. Connections

Chapter 28: Connections

 **Sol-System, Planet Remnant**

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Unknown Date**

"What? Where am I?" Jaune asked, looking at his hands. He was able to easily look through them as if he were a Ghost.

"These are the last few weeks of Interaction between this world and the one you call Remnant." Jaune looked beside him and saw the one person he didn't expect: Ozpin. He was just hovering there, sipping his hot chocolate.

"Ozpin?" Ruby asked excitedly. "What are you-"

"Stop, for he is not who you think." A large frame got between Ruby and the Headmaster. It was the Arbiter. It looked like all four of them were here in... Wherever this was. "This is the parasite."

"A Sangheili with good deduction. Interesting." 'Ozpin' smirked. "Indeed, I have taken on this form to make it easier for you. After all, you still got a task to perform, and it'd be no good to leave you children confused."

"He's even taken on his mannerisms," Jaune growled. He hated the Flood more with every encounter. "All right, what is it you want to show us? The last firing of the Array?"

"No, not quite. In fact, what I want to show you takes place thousands of years after our 'defeat'" The Gravemind put air quotes around the word defeat. "As I said, this is the last interaction between this world and Remnant."

"So there was actual interaction between the worlds?" Ruby asked. "For how long?"

"Long enough. The artifact you uncovered was, in fact, hidden there by a Forerunner I highly despise. No, not hidden. But you shall see."

"The Gods have put artifacts on human planets?" The Arbiter asked. "No matter, I should not be surprised."

"What? I thought they were rare." The Masterchief asked.

"No, they are not. In fact, small artifacts are scattered everywhere. It is harder to find a hospitable planet without them then finding one with artifacts."

"What I wanted to say..." The fake Headmaster took hold of the conversation. "While you found it after a mudslide, it wasn't always hidden. In fact, for a bit of time, it formed the center of an old kingdom."

"Let me guess, that's where we are?" Jaune asked. He looked around and looked at the room they were in. It looked incredibly old, being made out of sturdy stone. The entrance door was made out of heavy wood, while the middle of the room was a large table... With roughly nine people in heavy-looking armor. There were more seats, however, so a few were probably missing.

It looked like a war room, with a wide arrangement of maps in the middle of the table. Thanks to them, Jaune was quick to make out that they were somewhere in the Emerald Forest.

"Can they see us?" The Chief asked.

"No, they cannot. They are not even real." 'Ozpin' replied. "This is but a projection if you will. A dream inside your minds. I've used the information stored inside all the countless bodies I consumed, as well as the Domain, or the tiny fraction I still have access to, to recreate the events that took part in eons past."

"And who are these-" Jaune was interrupted, as the door flew open. In came a man, somewhere between thirty and forty years old. He wore an armor far more expensive than the others, as well as a red rope.

It was a King.

The warriors in the room immediately got up and bowed down. Now that he looked at them, Jaune noticed that only one of them was wearing a helmet. Maybe to hide some horrific scar or something.

The King walked up to the table and sat down at its head. "Finally, everyone is here." He said with an exasperated voice.

"Are you all right, my lord?" One of the warriors asked. "You seem to be tired."

"The fallout of the last affairs have been taxing, nothing more, nothing less." He replied. "Sadly, I could not reach our comrade. I do not know if he will return or not."

"He shouldn't. After what he's done, he should be banished to the Grimm lands." One of the warriors replied. He had bright blonde hair, reminding Jaune of the sun itself.

"Anyways, that is not what we are here to discuss. It does not concern the kingdom. Only me." The King paused for a second. "In a few weeks, we will use the portal to finalize our plan."

"Right. We have written down the name and profession of every citizen this side of the gate." The knight in the helmet replied with an undiscernable voice. "There should not be a single one missing unless they are mauled by the Grimm."

"That is good. How are the affairs on the other side?"

"The kingdom is secure, and should have enough resources to sustain everyone." Another knight replied. "We've also managed to wipe out the last encampment of the Saxons in the kingdom."

"Very well." The King nodded, with a smile on his face. "And remember, on the day of the transition, everything has to go well. We cannot let the Grimm take a foothold on the other side, or all would be ruined."

"Still." The knight in the helmet muttered. "We have to keep our hold on this side, and transitioning every time is too taxing. Yes, I would suggest putting one of us in charge on this side."

"Is this another one of your plans?" One knight asked.

"Plan? No. I simply believe it to be a good way to confirm my worth as an heir." He replied, and looked at the king.

"No, we won't. I am quite able to handle this myself."

"Ugh." The knight growled. "But goldie over there gets promoted to the general of our army on the other side?" He pointed at the man with the golden blonde hair.

"Yes, because he is capable, and I trust him fully with this task."

"Capable? Don't make me laugh. This morning, I saw him trip in the garden. And you know what happened then? A bird shat on his back. You call that a general?"

"If you don't stop with your insults, then I swear I will-" The blonde knight stood up, but the king gestured him to sit back down.

"Calm yourself, Sir Gawain." The King yelled in a strict tone befitting of a king. It even made Jaune want to bow down.

"Sir... Sir Gawain?" Cortana asked confused. "Is this... Is this the-"

"Yes, the people you see in front of you are known as the Knights of the Roundtable, along with their King, Arthur Pendragon."

"That's a cool name..." Ruby muttered to herself quietly. Jaune had to agree, it sounded pretty awesome.

"But... But that's impossible." The Chief replied, in a tone, Jaune had never heard of him before.

"How so? Are Humans so inept as to forget their own history?" The Arbiter asked.

"No, that's not it," Cortana replied. "But the Legend of King Arthur, the Kingdom of Camelot... It is only a Legend. Magic... Holy Swords... All of this should be impossible."

"And yet, it is true." 'Ozpin' said with a smirk. "You may call it magic today, but back then, those abilities were simply known as Semblance."

"Then what Johnson said was true?" Jaune muttered in disbelief. "Those old legends... Might be connected to Remnant?"

"Yes, that is true. King Arthur is not the only one." 'Ozpin' replied. "The Mahabharata, the Nibelungenlied... Those and many others are true in one way or the other. Of course, the passing of time has changed them, but at their core, there is truth in them."

"But why aren't there any Semblances left?" Cortana asked.

"My dear Construct, this will be revealed as we progress through this story. For now, listen to what these honorable warriors have to say."

"I am Sorry, my Liege," Gawain replied and sat back down. "But Mordred has just been getting on my nerves lately."

"It is fine," Arthur replied. "Now then, I trust all of you to watch over our operation. And do not forget, the fate of Humanity hangs upon this Transition." The King stood up and left.

Most of the Knights followed him.

"So... What operation are they talking about?"

"Easy to answer." Ozpin started to explain. "Back then, Camelot was split into two parts: One half on Remnant, one on Earth, connected through a Forerunner Artifact. With the Grimm constantly threatening them, the King decided to evacuate the Remnant half to Earth, to a world free of the Darkness."

"A large scale evacuation."

"But that doesn't make sense," Ruby replied. "The artifact brought us to Installation 04, not Earth!"

"All will be revealed, my child." The Gravemind replied. "And I hope you are ready to stop them."

 _Wait, what was that?_ Jaune asked himself. That last sentence seemed different. Genuine.

"Now, to the next part." The whole world around them shifted, from the cold, yet warm inside of the castle to a Garden at night.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Planet Remnant**

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Unknown Date**

Beautiful flowerbeds were covering the sides of a marble-walkway, while the green leaves were moving thanks to a light summer breeze. However, the peaceful atmosphere was ruined by one knight.

Mordred, rampaging through a batch of flowers, trampling them under his armored feet. "Damn him! Damn him to hell and back!" He yelled in anger.

"Calm down, Mordred." Behind him, a woman appeared, hovering slightly over the ground. Her body was wrapped in long, purple clothes, while her long hair was leisurely hanging down.

"How could I?" Mordred swung around. "That damn King is still not seeing me as a worthy heir!"

"Yes, that truly is sad, my child." The woman replied, and embraced Mordred in a tight hug. "You are his only offspring. There is no need to worry."

"But if he doesn't acknowledge me, then how-"

"Show him by force." The woman replied.

"Is this... Morgan?" Cortana asked.

"Who?" Jaune, Ruby and the Arbiter replied at the same time.

"A character from the Arthurian Legend. Depending on the source, she was a witch, Arthur's sibling or something entirely different. And she was Mordred's mother. In some sources. Sources on Camelot conflict and vary greatly." Cortana explains.

"Even in those where she was his sibling?" The Arbiter asked, disgust in his voice.

"Yes." Cortana deadpanned.

"... Your Species is weird and disgusting."

"Trust me, that's pretty much common sense," Jaune added.

"Sadly... I know everything through the Marines I infected. I agree Humanity can be disgusting." The Gravemind added nonchalantly.

"By Force?" Mordred asked, time moving again.

"Yes, my dear. By force. Take his kingdom, seize it for yourself. There are enough people unhappy with his reign. And if they are, then it is their right to take up arms and stop it."

Mordred nodded. "You're right. I... I have to make some preparations."

"Very good, my child. Very good." Morgan had a nefarious grin on her lips as her son left. However, it soon stopped, as another voice came out of the shadows.

"Morgan le Fay." It was a male voice, belonging to an elderly man. He walked out from below an oak tree and shook his head in disappointment. "I never thought I'd see you again."

"It is good to see you too, Merlin," Morgan replied. Merlin sighed in response. "Still helping out your King I see?"

"As always. I have been with him since the beginning, and I swore to stand with him until the end of times."

"How sad," Morgan replied, walking away. "Tell me, was this your plan? The Exodus?"

"In part. I came up with it together with King Arthur and Sir Kay. We believe it to be the best course of action. As you know, Salem is getting more and more aggressive."

"Who- Who's Salem?" Ruby asked. "Is she an enemy of Camelot?"

"Not that I know," Cortana replied.

"She is of no concern." 'Ozpin' replied. "At least not yet, Miss Rose."

"Huh?" Ruby gasped.

"True. True. Salem is indeed more and more dangerous as time goes on. But do you think you will be able to keep the Grimm out of the artifact? They will breach through eventually. And once they gained a foothold on the other side, they'll be impossible to remove."

"We already prepared for that," Merlin assured. "I found scriptures while scouring ruins in the mountains, and I believe there to be a way to raise a barrier, one that repels Grimm."

"A barrier? Still trusting in your Semblance, I see? No, wait. You call it magic, don't you?" Morgan turned her back to Merlin. "Very well, do as you please. But don't come crawling to me when you get slaughtered like cattle." She left, disappearing into the darkness of the night, leaving Merlin alone in the garden.

He sighed and looked at the trampled flowers as if mourning their loss. "I should inform Arthur. If Mordred goes through with what that Witch told her... Oh dear, I can't imagine how it will end." He pulled out a staff from under his robe and swung it over the flowerbed. "By the will of the gods and all of humanity, I shall save your soul." Green and blue mist scattered over the plants, instantly revitalizing them.

Merlin nodded and left into the castle.

"So... His Magic was his Semblance?" Cortana asked. "Interesting..."

"That's one powerful Semblance..." Ruby muttered.

"Yes, back then, Semblances and Aura, in general, were much stronger. It is one of the things that deteriorated over time. Sadly, the genes needed for Aura are recessive, meaning that, over time, they weakened."

"Oh, that sucks," Ruby replied, her hand on her chin in thought. "With even stronger Semblances and current technology, we could've kicked the Grimm's butt easily."

"Are you ready to move on?" 'Ozpin' asked. "There's is still a few things to cover."

"Yeah, I guess," Jaune said.

"Why..." The Arbiter muttered silently. "Why does humanity of all creatures have such powers?"

"Long story." The Gravemind snipped with his finger, and the garden quickly turned into another large room inside the castle.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Planet Remnant**

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Unknown Date**

The cobblestone chamber was only lit up by torches on the wall. Other than that, it was full of swords, lances, and other medieval weapons, some simple metal blades, some far more distinguished and elaborate in their design.

One of the Knights was inside, alongside multiple workers. He held a small piece of paper in his hand, approvingly nodding whenever one of the weapons was brought to a carriage. Jaune noticed his lack of a second arm and wondered what happened to it.

Suddenly, the door opened, and the King himself entered. "Sir Bedivere."

"King Arthur." Bedivere, along with the workers, kneeled down.

"Are all our weapons categorized?"

"Yes, we are currently transporting them towards the portal," Bedivere explained, showing Arthur the list. "We have accounted for almost every weapon in the armory."

"Very well. Is Rhongomyniad in good shape?"

"Of course. No one would dare to touch your holy Lance. Is there something more specific you would like to ask?"

"You know me well, Bedivere," Arthur said with a smile. "I'd like to take it out for a few hours. Sir Gawain, Sir Kay and I are going out to destroy a nest of Goliath, and as you know, that Lance is far more effective against large, armoured Grimm than even Excalibur."

"Of course." Bedivere walked over to a weapon rack and took an ornamented spear. It almost lit up the room itself with the pure radiance it emitted. "Here, my liege."

"Thank you very much." Arthur was about to leave, as his Knight stopped him.

"I am sorry, but there is something I wanted to know..."

"About the Transition? We talked about it enough, did we not?"

"No, not that. Something is missing. We have no idea where Clarent is." He looked up from his list. "You haven't seen the sword, right?"

Arthur looked at the ground and tapped his foot on the ground. "No, I have not. I suppose it did not slip past your eye?"

"We have searched the entire armory five times over. It is nowhere to be found."

Arthur sighed. "Well, I guess it isn't much of a problem. One Sword is not the end of the world. We can do without Clarent. Maybe it will turn up somewhere along the line. Continue with your work, and then visit the kitchen. I am sure you will be quite hungry."

"Gawain isn't cooking, is he?" Bedivere asked.

"No, he is not," Arthur said, and both shivered. "I explicitly forbid him to enter the kitchen alone."

"Good luck on your hunt, King."

"Good luck to you too." Arthur left, leaving Bedivere alone.

He looked back at his list. "But still... Something doesn't feel right."

"Sir Bedivere?" One of the workers asked, and picked up a metal object from the ground. "I think I found something!"

"Let me see." Bedivere took the piece of metal and turned it around in his hand. "Hmm. This is a lock. Did... Did someone break in?"

"The lock on the door is still intact." The worker replied.

"How curious. Maybe it is an old lock that was left in the corner?" He looked at the door and frowned. "Something's definitely wrong here. I've got a bad gut feeling."

The world froze, and Ruby sighed. "Man, I can't follow."

"It is clear who stole it." The Arbiter replied. "You don't seem to have the mental capacity to realize that it was that other knight."

"Yes, Mordred stole Clarent. That would be obvious." The Gravemind said. Jaune looked over to Ruby, who was pouting. "Now, I do have a question. Is anyone interested in seeing all the political-"

"No." Jaune and Ruby shouted in unison.

"All right. Still not big on history I see." He snapped his finger once again.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Planet Remnant  
**

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Unknown Date**

All changed to a medium-sized Forerunner structure at the base of a mountain. Wooden palisades were erected around it, and warriors stood atop them.

Merlin, Arthur, and Sir Kay were standing inside, looking over the basecamp. "Yes, this will do."

"I shall erect the barrier now," Merlin explained. "Then, we can start with our plan." He started drawing on the floor.

"You think this will work? We've never brought such a large amount of people over to the other side." Kay asked.

"It will. It has to." Arthur sighed. "The Grimm... It might be possible to live around them... But at what cost? We live our lives in fear. Cities, Towns, and Villages are razed constantly, their people slaughtered and torn apart. If Camelot would not have had such luck with the surrounding mountains... We would have never been able to survive either. I do not want our Kingdom to have this future."

Now that e mentioned it, Jaune realized that the Emerald Forest had a lot more mountains than he remembered.

"The Grimm... We are able to tear through the smaller ones and bring down the large ones. But there is no dent in their numbers." Kay murmured. "I suppose it is impossible to beat them."

"Precisely. When I have grown old, I don't want to watch people living in fear. I want to watch over citizens who can live their life without a worry in a prospering kingdom. They shall cherish every second in their life, not fear sudden destruction by the Darkness. That is only possible on the other side."

"I am done," Merlin said and stood back up. He clapped his hands together and started murmuring something inaudible. The circle he drew on the ground started glowing, and soon, glowing green and blue orbs rose into the air and formed a dome around the mountain. "The barrier is working."

Arthur simply nodded towards Kay, who walked up to the edge of the walkway. "We will begin with the transition at once! Every knight and guard, stand ready to defend our people!"

The mass of humans surrounding the structure started to move inside, bringing along their families, cattle and most treasured belongings.

"I will accompany them onto the other side, and make sure that Sir Mordred is doing his job. Merlin, Sir Kay, stay here and watch out that all goes smoothly." Arthur went back into the structure, leaving the courtmage and Knight alone.

"Hey, Merlin?"

"What is it?"

"The King... Do you think Gwynevere and Lancelot... That all of that is still bothering him? You seem to have a better understanding of him than everyone else."

"It is. I would hope that it did, otherwise he would be heartless, and not fit to be a King. But he decided to ignore the pain, and focus on the task at hand. That was something Arthur was always good at."

"Sir Kay!" A Guard ran up to the two, out of breath. "The Grimm are closing in from the East."

Merlin sighed. "Of course they wouldn't let us do this. Let us depart, Sir Kay. We have to push back our eternal enemies."

The Knight nodded and looked at the Guard. "You, take a few cavalry units, and scout the area once again, and set up archers around the entrance. We can't let the Grimm come in."

"Of course, Sir!" The Guard ran away, and Kay turned towards the mage.

"Merlin... You said this barrier-"

"I did. That's what concerns me. The Grimm shouldn't even be able to find this place. There is something else going on. But I cannot say what."

Once again, the scenery around them changed, turning into a large hill, with a Forerunner structure at its base. The complex was towering over the surrounding forests like a mountain, casting a large shadow on a fort. Humans started to come out.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Planet Earth**

 **Britannia; Camlann**

 **Unknown Date**

"Where are we now?" Ruby asked.

"Fool, on the other side, of course." The Arbiter replied. "If I am correct, then this should be your home planet."

"Earth..." Cortana muttered. "A hill... This must be Camlann..."

"Camlann?" Jaune and Ruby asked in confusion.

The doors of the complex opened, revealing a large crowd, led by both King Arthur and Sir Gawain. The two Knights were riding on their horses and stopped as they left the Forerunner structure.

In front of them stood Sir Mordred, carrying a large, red sword. "Hello, Arthur."

"Sir Mordred. Is everything ready on this site?"

"Arthur..." Mordred muttered, almost remorseful. "I have a question for you."

"Sir Mordred... That's Clarent..." Gawain said, looking at the sword in the possession of the Knight. "But it was missing..."

"My King, what did you do with Gwynevere?" The Knight asked. "Why did you execute her, not Sir Lancelot after he slept with her, and slew Sir Gareth and Gaheris. But you let him go, and why, I ask?"

"Sir Mordred... This is a really, really bad time."

Behind Mordred, multiple men armed with swords, bows and other medieval weapons appeared. "And tell me, do you possess an heir?"

"No, I do not. Not yet. That matter will have to wait until we successfully saved our people. Now let us through."

"No." Mordred picked up his sword and went into a battle stance. In response, Gawain grabbed his own sword, while the guards assigned to the refugees did the same. "My name is Mordred. Mordred Pendragon. The one true son of King Arthur. The son who has the rightful inheritance to the throne of Camelot."

"Mordred!" Arthur yelled. "Stop this at once!"

"And today, I shall claim my rightful place!" Mordred and his army charged forward, while the guards ran at them.

"Get the refugees back until we dealt with this rebellion!" Gawain yelled behind him, causing a few guards to break off and lead the civilians back.

The two armies met in the middle, and the sound of metal clanging against metal filled the afternoon air. Soldier after soldier fell, staining the earth blood red. However, in the chaos, three warriors shone brighter than anyone else, tearing through their opposition with a precision and speed Ruby had never seen before.

It almost felt as if they weren't human.

Gawain, still on the back of his horse, decapitated one enemy soldier after the other, trying to make his way to Mordred. However, he stopped still, as he spotted another knight in shining armor charging into battle. His face turned into pure anger, as he yelled out a name: "LANCELOT!"

"Sir Gawain?" Arthur asked.

"My King, I am sorry, but I cannot let Sir Lancelot join the battle. He is no doubt on the side of Mordred, and there is something I have to avenge."

"Of course. Do not die, Sir Gawain."

"I would never, my liege." The two knights parted ways, and Arthur charged directly at Mordred, Rhongomyniad in hand.

"Arthur!" Mordred screamed, and let his sword down at Arthur. He jumped off the horse, which was cut in half by the slash.

The King holstered his lance, knowing that it would be disadvantageous in this situation, and pulled the Holy Sword from its sheath.

Mordred spun around on one foot, and clashed blades with Arthur, none of them budging. Under their feet, the ground started to crack and broke into pieces as no knight was willing to give in.

"Sir Mordred!" Arthur blocked another attack, and they started trading blows at a speed at which the swords turned into golden and grey blurs. "Why are you doing this?"

"You denied me the throne! I cannot let that stand! You may be a King loved by the people of Remnant, but you are not in this world. You rarely show yourself and do not converse with the people here. They do not care how much of Britain you conquered!"

"I denied you the throne because you are immature, not fit to be a King!" Arthur jumped back, and slashed at the ground, throwing dirt and rocks at Mordred, before jumping towards him with enough force to create a small crater where he pushed himself off. "This is the perfect example!"

"This isn't two humans fighting..." The Masterchief muttered in disbelief.

"Indeed," Ozpin replied. "They are primitive Remnants. People who had much stronger Semblance, Aura and physical prowess. It would be no stretch to call them superhuman by today's standards, even when taking into account the modern people of Remnant."

Ruby had to agree. Every clash made the air vibrate, every jump or charge broke the ground as if nature itself was giving in to humanity. But if they were capable of that, but were not able to defeat the Grimm...

The fight was interrupted, however, as Lancelot was thrown between them, flying against an oak tree which shattered upon impact. Gawain charged after the Knight of the Lake, his own sword held high.

The King and Mordred watched them, before continuing their battle.

"Yes, this is the battle of Camlann." Cortana pointed out. "In legend, this was the battle in which Camelot fell."

The two warriors continued relentlessly, none of them showing even a sign of fatigue. "You call me immature, you bastard? You will not let me have the throne because of my mother, that is the truth! Just because you despise Morgan!"

"Morgan?" Arthur asked. "What are you saying?"

"Morgan La Fey. She gave me this idea. She was always right. I once envied you, Arthur. But after you rejected me... All of my love turned into anger!"

"She gave you this idea?" Arthur asked in shock. "But... But how? She was found-"

Suddenly, both stopped as explosions erupted around the Forerunner artifact. Everyone on the battlefield turned their attention on the structure, and a few started to flee in panic.

Out of the alien building crawled a massive, black shadow. It quickly sprouted wings, covering the entire hill under them. A snake-like head emerged from the four-legged body, and let out a mighty roar, forcing everyone to cover their ears.

Finally, the massive Grimm fully emerged from the portal and was at least as large as the Forerunner structure. Its wings darkened the sun, and the mere sight of the monster sparked fear in Ruby, Jaune, the Chief, and the Arbiter.

White bone plates grew out of its body, turning into a heavy armor around the body, legs, and head.

"What are the Grimm doing here?" Mordred asked in shock.

"I don't know. Merlin... Sir Kay..." Arthur muttered. Behind them, Lancelot and Gawain stopped their fight and stared at the creature.

Under it, Beowolf, Ursa, Creeps, Lancers and hundreds more Grimm emerged, attacking both armies.

"We have to stop them!" Arthur said.

"Ugh, I hate to say it right now, but yeah." Mordred agreed. "Even if I wrestled the throne from you, I won't rule over a giant bonfire!"

"Sir Lancelot! Sir Gawain, you two shall help us too!"

"I... I was not here to fight you, Arthur." Lancelot said as he got back up. "I was here to stop Mordred."

"What?" Gawain asked. "But-"

"Be quiet, Sir Gawain. For now, we have to pay all our attention to our new enemy. We cannot allow the Grimm to get a hold of this world too."

"Of course." The four knights readied their swords and charged at the Grimm Dragon.

"That Grimm's huge!" Jaune gasped. "But... Since when did Grimm of that size exist?"

"Mom and Dad told me bedtime stories about giant Grimm, old ones, or ancients," Ruby explained. "However... I don't think that this thing matches any of them. And they are just legends anyways."

"We thought King Arthur was a mere legend too." Cortana pointed out. "Is this one of the Grimm Ruby is talking about?"

"No, it is not. This is a simple Grimm, an incredibly old one, yes, but not one of those twelve Grimm."

Their attention snapped back towards the battlefield, as the Dragon opened its mouth. Energy built up between its jaws, unleashing a devastating beam of energy that cuts through the earth.

Under it, Grimm emerged from puddles dripping of its body and attacked the soldiers that were fighting against each other just a moment ago.

The Dragon itself paid them no heed, and marched onto the battlefield, crushing human and Grimm alike under its massive claws.

It started flapping its wings, throwing those unfortunate to stay under them away. Most of them did not get back up, as their bones were broken from the simple force of the wind created by the Grimm.

Contrary to what Jaune believed would happen, the Dragon actually took off, it's wings creating a crater under it akin to a rocket flying into space. However, the flight was short, as a blade cut through its membrane.

The dragon roared in agony and crashed back into the ground. Mordred stood under its wing, wiping black goo of Clarent. "Man, it's a good thing you're slow."

The Dragon pushed itself back on its feet, and unleashed another energy beam, trying to hit Mordred. The Knight, however, dodged the attack just in time and continued slashing at the wings.

Lancelot rode towards the other wing and started doing the same, all while the dragon continued to fire off beams of energy, cutting even the clouds above them into pieces.

Both Gawain and Arthur came up to the Dragon, heavy ropes in their hands, and started throwing them over the beast to pin it down. Of course, that wasn't enough, and the Grimm broke free, though it seemed to have the intended effect.

Arthur and Gawain held onto the ropes and were thrown into the air, landing on the back of the dragon.

"We did it," Arthur said and looked at the wings. The membranes were torn, and the creature would never fly again. "As I thought, the armor is missing here."

Suddenly, the membranes of the wings started to glow and reformed themselves. "It can heal?" Arthur asked, half annoyed and half surprised. "If that's the case, then we won't be able to defeat it before it heals itself again." He looked back at the Forerunner structure and hummed to himself. "Maybe..."

"What is your plan, my liege?" Gawain asked, trying to hold onto the struggling dragon.

"Merlin mentioned once that incredible familiars are hidden within that tower. Maybe he can get them to move out and destroy the dragon."

"Do you think that will work?"

"It is our best bet. You and Lancelot are to hold off the Grimm here. If necessary, use your Semblance to keep them away from the surrounding land, and do not let the dragon off the ground."

"What about you?"

"Mordred and I will go back and find Merlin. Then, we will summon the familiars."

"Understood."

Arthur nodded silently and jumped off the dragon, his Aura flickering as he hit the ground. "Sir Mordred!"

"Arthur!" Mordred replied, still with hate in his voice. "This bastard's healing!"

"I know. We have to find Merlin. Would you come with me?"

He growled. "If it means defeating this giant lizard, then sure." The two Knights started running towards the Alien structure, slaying every Grimm that stood in their way. A few minutes later, they disappeared into the Structure.

"Gawain! It is trying to flee again!" Lancelot alerted.

"I will not let it!" Gawain said and held his sword into the air. The light seemed to move into it, appearing to come straight from the sun itself. "In the name of my King, and the people of Camelot, my Semblance shall be unleashed! O great sun, grant me the power to strike down the darkness, and let your light be my blade!" His eyes glow silver for a second, before the energy moved over into his arm, and into his sword.

A second later, the sword slashed, releasing a large wave of energy, which effortlessly cut through one of the wings.

Gawain started to breathe heavily, as his Aura flickered and shattered.

"That's... That's one powerful Semblance..." Ruby said in awe.

"And thus, the battle continued to wage on for hours." 'Ozpin' said. "Shall we see what the other side is up to?"

"Yes," Jaune said. "I want to know what happened."

* * *

 **Sol-System, Planet Remnant**

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Unknown Date**

The scene shifted back to Remnant, specifically the fortifications in front of the Forerunner structure. Or what remained of them. The palisades were on fire, and the forest around them was cut down. Bloody corpses covered the ground, with only a few soldiers left standing.

One soldier was currently in a scuffle with an Ursa. The bear managed to slap the sword out of his hands and pinned him down. But before it could crack his head, it was cut in half.

Mordred helped him back up. "For how long have the Grimm been attacking?"

"Sir Mordred? For a few minutes now. A giant Dragon-"

"Yes, we know," Arthur said, stepping up to the two. "We need Merlin. Have you seen him? Or Sir Kay? Bedivere?"

"Sir Kay has returned to the city with a small contingent of troops, to try and defend the city gates. Sir Bedivere and Merlin are up there." He pointed to a few caves leading into the surrounding mountains. "They try to bring the civilians to safety."

"Thank you. Get back to your men." Arthur replied, handing the man his sword back. He left, leaving the two alone. "We have to get to them fast. I don't know how long the gates will hold against this mass of Grimm."

"Yeah, I chose a shitty time to rebel, didn't I?"

"Anytime is a bad time to rebel, Mordred." Arthur deadpanned. "Do you see any horses here?"

"Only dead ones. Seems like we have to go by foot. Dammit, we may not make it in time."

"No, we will. Bedivere and Merlin can hold their own against the Grimm." Both started running towards the mountains. "I am more concerned about the city gates. Most of the Grimm will concentrate there."

"I have to admit, your species does have the right mindset when it comes to war." The Arbiter muttered.

"Thank... you?" Ruby replied. "Not sure if that's a good thing or not."

"From the mouth of a Sangheili? It is." Cortana added.

They followed the two knights as they ran for the mountains, helping out wounded soldiers whenever they could. The mountain itself, or rather the path leading up to it, was overrun with Grimm, though a large pillar of black smoke was rising up from its top, alongside flashes of light cutting through the air.

Mordred and Arthur ran up the path, cutting through the smaller Grimm and ignoring the larger ones until they arrived at the top. The civilians were hiding inside a cave, with Merlin and Bedivere holding off the Grimm.

One of the Alpha Beowolf went down as a beam of energy blew a hole through its chest, with the pack behind it getting blown away by green and red orbs.

The last few Grimm between Arthur and Merlin were cut down by Bedivere.

"Arthur? Mordred? Thank the Gods you're here." Merlin sighed. "I suppose you saw that dragon?"

"We did. Trust me." Mordred replied. "Merlin, we need your help."

"Of course you do. What is it you need? A field? Tomes?"

"No. You once mentioned that there are familiars hidden in the portal structure. Do you know how to activate them?"

Merlin put his hand on his chin in thought. "Yes, I think I do. There's a room in there where we should be able to activate them. Even someone who is not a mage can do it. I can show you where it is."

"That would be great, Merlin," Arthur replied. "Bedivere? We will try to cut off the path with some rocks. That should keep the civilians save until this problem is resolved."

Bedivere nodded in agreement. "All right, but if I may, I would like to stay here. There are more than enough Grimm that can bury underground. They need someone to keep them safe."

"Understood. We will return once this is over." Arthur looked at Mordred. "Will you accompany us?"

"It's the best thing I can do. I kinda caused this mess, so..."

"Yes, it was pretty much your fault. Now come on, we don't have much time. Even Lancelot and Gawain cannot hold off that dragon for long." The Knights, now in the company of the mage, begin to run down the path and stop about halfway down.

Merlin held up his staff and cast some sort of spell towards the mountainside. It destabilized the cliff, and large rocks came crashing down, burying the path and blocking the way for the Grimm.

The team managed to make their way back to the Forerunner structure and entered through a small door at the Earth side of the portal. Ruby instantly recognized the hallways as Forerunner in origin, even if they had a slightly different style to them as if they were built by different architects then the rings.

All noise from outside was drawn out in an instant, only leaving a quiet hum in the background.

"Man... Who the hell built this?" Mordred asked in awe. "It's like it's made of metal." He touched the wall slightly, trying to gather its surface texture. "And yet, it's smooth."

"Let's say the ones who built it were far beyond our reach. For... multiple reasons." Merlin replied. "Maybe we will achieve their status one day. But I highly doubt any of us will live long enough to see that."

"The Gods were impressive, weren't they? I've never been in here myself, but even I can recognize the aura this place emits." Arthur added.

"So your people recognized the Forerunners as Gods?" The Arbiter asked.

"The people in Camelot, apparently," Cortana replied. "But that structure is not around anymore, for some reason. There's not a single Forerunner relic on Earth, so we never evolved a large religion around them."

"All right... I suppose that is a fair point..." The Arbiter replied quietly as if contemplating something. "Then what the Prophets said about your Heresy..."

They followed the Knights as they entered a large room, littered with interfaces and terminals. All of them seemed alien, but at the same time familiar. A large window gave sight onto the battlefield.

Flashes of light were dancing over it, indicating that at least Gawain was still fighting. However, the Dragon was still alive and kicking as well, though it was kept in the area by the soldiers.

"We have to summon those familiar quickly," Arthur said.

"Then come over here," Merlin said. Arthur walked up to a rather large terminal. "You just have to put your hand here. After that, everything will come to you naturally."

Arthur nodded and put his hand onto the interface. It sprang to life, and a light blue outlined his hand. A second later all the machinery in the room came back online. Arthur quickly moved his hand over the interfaces.

"Yes, that's exactly it," Merlin muttered and walked up to the window, where Mordred was watching. "Sir Mordred? Are you all right?"

"This is all my fault, ain't it?" He asked, clutching his fists.

"Well, in a way. But you were manipulated by your mother. Morgan is a snake, never forget that."

"Arthur said she was found dead..." Mordred replied.

Merlin seemed shocked for a second. "What? But I talked to her recently... No."

"What?"

"This is bad. Dammit, I should've known. That damn witch!"

"Wait, what's going on?" Mordred asked. Merlin looked outside, as multiple Sentinels flew away from the structure.

Their energy beams started cutting through the landscape, and pillars of smoke rose into the air.

The dragon looked up, as one particularly large Sentinel approached. It launched missiles from its body, breaking the armor on the back of the dragon. The Grimm jumped towards it, pulling the Sentinel out of the air, and crushing it under its weight.

However, the resulting explosion threw the dragon off its feet, and a second later-

Two large slashes hit the neck of the fallen beast. Its head tore off, and the two knights, Lancelot and Gawain, watched as the giant monster started to disappear. More Sentinels started and continued to take down the Grimm.

"We did it!" Mordred cheered and turned around. "Arthur! We did it!"

"Looks like it."

"No, it is not over yet," Merlin said. "The real danger is still out there. This facility only has a limited number of Sentinels, and her Grimm are endless. No, we have to stop their source itself."

"Their source?" Arthur asked. "Do you mean-"

"Yes. Salem."

"Wait, that witch?" Mordred asked in shock. "Where..." He stopped, as the realization hit him. "Salem... She killed Mother, and then-"

"Yes. That person that made you do this was, without a doubt, Salem." Merlin replied. "She has found the structure. And now she can get her hands on the relic."

Arthur looked at the ground. "And both sides are at her mercy... Dammit, this has all gone to hell."

"Yes." Merlin looked out. "We have gotten a considerable amount of people through, right?"

"Around one-third of the people." The King sighed. "I... I think I have a plan."

"What is it?" Mordred asked. "Slay Salem?"

"She cannot be slain. We know that." Arthur yelled. "No, we need to destroy this structure."

The Arbiter said something in Sangheili, undoubtedly curse words, Jaune guessed. He watched as Mordred and Merlin looked at each other in concern.

"Destroy it? What about the plan-"

"The plan is no more. Salem ruined it!" Arthur lashed out. "Merlin? Can we destroy it?"

Merlin nodded. "I suppose it is possible. The entire complex is powered by an engine deep in its bowels. If we overload it, then it should be enough to completely destroy it. The other side could survive, but it would be unusable."

"There is only one thing that can do that then," Arthur said. He drew his lance.

"Rhongomyniad?" Merlin gasped. "My King, I must disagree on this. We both know how powerful that lance is-"

"I am not talking about it. No, it is true that it would be enough to do the job, but it is too important. Who knows what would happen if one of them got destroyed." He threw it to the side. "I will entrust it to Gawain."

"But why?"

"We can make sure Salem is never going to get it," Arthur said. He drew his sword. "No, the combination of my Semblance and Excalibur shall be enough."

Merlin closed his eyes and shook his head. "In some aspects, you're still the same as when you were a child."

Arthur looked towards one of the doors. "You said it was deep in the basement, right? I will find my way there. I will give you twenty minutes, I should've reached it by then. Give Rhongomyniad to Gawain, and tell him to get everyone as far away from here as possible."

"What about us?" Mordred asked. "I mean... We haven't had a real talk."

Arthur grabbed Mordred by the shoulders. "Sir Mordred... It is true that you are a brat. You are rash and hotheaded."

"Ugh, of course, you would-"

"But, through all this, you have shown that you can take responsibility, and that, in the end, you realized your mistakes. I will be frank, I won't survive this. But Camelot, or what is left of it, needs a King."

"Wait, are you-"

"Sir Mordred. This is your last duty as a Knight. Got to Remnant. Lead the survivors, and make sure that they have a future."

Mordred nodded determinedly. "Of course, King Arthur."

"Thank you, my child," Arthur said, and left, leaving Mordred dumbfounded.

"He... He acknowledged-"

"Yes, yes. We only have twenty minutes. Come on, we have to get to Gawain and through the portal."

Mordred shook his head and followed Merlin out of the Forerunner structure. The battlefield had calmed down a bit, and most of the soldiers had started to treat the wounded, as the Grimm were occupied with the Sentinels.

"Gawain! Gawain!" Mordred yelled. "Dammit, where is he?"

"Let me call him," Merlin said and put his staff into the ground. "I call to thee, Gawain."

A few seconds later, the blonde Knight came running. "Mordred! Merlin! Where's Arthur?!"

"Arthur... He chose to sacrifice himself." Merlin explained. "Listen, he gave you one last order. Mordred?"

Mordred handed him the lance. "Here. Arthur wanted you to take it. It cannot fall into Salem's hands."

"Wait, I don't understand-"

"He is going to destroy the portal," Merlin replied. "After that, we will be separated. He told Mordred and me to go back and stop Salem. You and Lancelot are supposed to stay here and take care of the civilians that got through."

"But... What about Camelot?"

"Camelot is finished, Gawain," Mordred said in a strict voice. "Just do what he said. And get everyone away from here. When that thing gets destroyed, then it will probably cause a lot of damage."

Gawain let his head hang low, and sighed. "If... If that's what the King wanted, then I shall agree with it."

"And try to hide the lance as good as possible," Merlin added. "We will be off then. Goodbye, Sir Gawain."

"Goodbye, Merlin. Goodbye Mordred. It was an honor to serve with you."

Mordred nodded. "Same." He and Merlin ran towards the portal, while Gawain ran towards Lancelot.

"Lancelot! No time to explain, but we have to get everyone away from the portal."

The Knight of the lake raised an eyebrow. "If... If you say so? Everyone! Pack it up! The familiars will take care of the rest. We will retreat towards Londinium!"

"So... Who's Salem?" Ruby asked. "Some sort of Grimm?"

"No, not exactly." The Gravemind said. "Though one could say she was created by the same being that created the Grimm."

* * *

 **Sol-System, Planet Remnant**

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Unknown Date**

The scene shifted again, going back to Camelot, where Merlin and Mordred were just leaving the portal. The corpses of soldiers littered the battlefield, with only a few humans still standing amongst the masses of Grimm.

"Merlin!" One Knight yelled and came running towards them. It was Kay, quickly followed by Bedivere. "What happened?"

"Arthur... He's not here anymore." Mordred replied. "He sacrificed himself."

"What?" Both Knights stepped back. "But why?"

"Because this isn't a simple Grimm invasion." Merlin started to explain. "No, this had a perpetrator behind it. Salem."

"The Witch? How?" Bedivere asked. "She shouldn't be-"

"It was Morgan, wasn't it?" Kay asked. "I saw her a few days ago during the night... But I just thought it to be an illusion."

"Yes. I suspect Salem killed Morgan and used an illusion to disguise herself as her."

"Bravo! Bravo!" A female voice called out behind them. Morgan was hovering a few meters above ground. "You figured it out! Took you longer than I anticipated. Merlin, is your mind deteriorating? That old age must get on your nerves."

"Stop mocking me, witch," Merlin replied. "Everyone, we cannot let the Grimm get through the portal. One undetected puddle would be enough for the other side to endure the same hell as Remnant."

Kay looked towards the portal and drew his sword. "I agree."

"This could be our last battle." Bedivere agreed. "I already lost the people on the mountain to the Grimm. I shall not disappoint Arthur another time."

"Well, as the one who caused this mess, I will fight you too," Mordred said and drew Clarent. "Prepare yourself, witch. You are about to face off against the finest of the Roundtable! Except for Gawain and Lancelot. And Tristan. And, eh you know what I mean!"

"Cute," Salem replied. "Merlin... You of all people should know that this is futile."

"We can die trying," Merlin said. "It is more honorable than giving up."

"The human spirit truly is admirable. But it will not save you." Beams of energy fired out of thin air around Salem, directly towards the knights.

Merlin stepped in front of them, and put up a barrier, blocking the spells. He swung his staff around, summoning vines and plants from the ground below Salem. The plants wrapped around her and pulled her down onto the ground.

However, it did not hold for long. She simply burned them away. However, that short amount of time was more than enough for the Knights to jump into the fray.

They surrounded Salem and tried to slash at her. Salem gracefully dodged all three slashes, and surrounded herself with a ring of fire, forcing the Knights to step back.

Merlin stabs his staff into the ground and summons a wave of water, which quickly washes away the ring of fire. Thus, the Knights went in again.

Their heavy armor is keeping them steady in the wave, while Salem has trouble standing on her feet. Sir Kay gets close and manages slash over Salem's chest, only to be lifted into the air, and thrown away.

Still, Salem stepped back and started hovering. "What... What is this? Why... Why does it hurt?"

Merlin grins. "Thank Sir Kays Semblance for that."

Kay stands back up, his right arm has gone limp from the impact. "None of my slashes will heal, no matter what you do."

Salem moves her hand over the wound, which starts to close. It stops halfway, and black veins start sprouting over her snow-white skin. She growls in anger. "You-"

"SALEM!" Mordred yells.

Salem turns around, just as the Knight launches himself into the air with a single jump. He brings Clarent down, right into her shoulder. It does not do damage but the sheer force is enough to force Salem back to the ground.

Bedivere comes in, an stabs his sword into her other shoulder, pinning it to the ground.

"ENOUGH!" A ball of fire erupts from Salem, instantly melting Bedivere's sword.

Bedivere and Mordred are thrown away, their armor scorched black. Salem rose back up and started casting spells at the Knights. Mordred was able to block or deflect a few with his sword, but eventually, it became too much.

A large spell hit him in the chest, throwing him into a barricade. The wood shattered upon impact.

A second one hits Kay, burning a massive hole through his chest. The last spell hit Bedivere and sends him flying several meters.

Merlin, in return, sends dozens of spells towards Salem, who returns the favor. Both attacks hit mid-air, creating multiple, large explosions.

Jaune, Ruby and the Arbiter instinctively shield their eyes with their arms until the bright light was gone.

What was left was a scorched battlefield, with both sides gasping for air. Sir Kay had collapsed, and Bedivere had trouble getting back onto his feet. Mordred was missing pieces of his armor and was pushing himself up with Clarent.

But the one who was worse off was Merlin. His legs were scorched, his robes burnt up and streams of blood were running down his face. But he was still standing.

"And so, it ends once again," Salem says proudly. "Die, Merlin."

"Salem. I have to admit, your plan almost succeeded." Merlin laughed. "I know full well that we cannot beat you. That's why we were just stalling."

"Stalling?" Salem asks.

That question, however, was answered immediately, as bright light started streaming out of the Forerunner structure. Space around it folded in, while the earth started to grumble.

"No!" Salem pleaded.

"Father did it, huh?" Mordred sighed with a grin on his face.

A second later, the structure disappeared in bright, blue, red and purple light, as if a slipspace portal opened to swallow the planet itself. The ground broke into large chunks, and the shockwave unrooted trees disintegrated mountains and buildings. Pieces of the land flew into the air, as the rules of gravity gave up.

Now, Jaune didn't know much about space. After all, he only really experienced it for a few months by now. But, he guessed that the explosion was equal to a Supernova, the second largest force in the universe, right after the big bang.

The explosion would've swallowed and destroyed Remnant, the moon and disrupted the entire Solar System if it weren't for the fact that this was a Forerunner structure. The Slipspace portal opened, swallowing the entire force of the explosion in itself, saving Remnant in the progress.

The chunks of the planet fell down, equal in strength to a small shower of meteorites. The entire Emerald Forest was turned into a wasteland, with only a few mountain peaks surviving the catastrophe.

From the glimpse of his eye, Jaune was able to see a bit of the Forerunner structure being buried under earth and rock. Was that...

"Is... Is it over?" Ruby asked. She was rolled together, a reaction to the catastrophe she just witnessed.

"It is." 'Ozpin' replied.

The dust settled, showing the wasteland. Jaune wasn't sure if anything survived. Ozpin once mentioned that a great many civilizations had risen and fallen in the Forever Fall.

The world in front of Jaune's eyes vanished, making place for the inner parts of a large Forerunner chamber. And wrapped around him were tentacles, made out of dead biomass. No, not dead. Undead.

And in front of him was the creature that mass belonged too.

* * *

 **Coelest System, Installation 05, Inner structure**

 **Unknown Chambers**

 **November 2; 2552**

"We're... We're back..." Ruby muttered in disbelief. Was what she just saw real? Was it an illusion? A vision? She couldn't tell. It felt real. As if she was there. Like a Ghost.

"Why did you show us that, parasite." The Arbiter asked, with a sign of disbelief and unsureness in his voice.

"So you understand." The Gravemind replies, his voice no longer coming out of Ozpins mouth, but once again vibrating through the air.

"Remnant... And Earth..." Jaune muttered.

Ruby wasn't sure what that meant. Why did he show them? He's Flood. He could've just assimilated them. Hell, the air could probably infect them. But... He was preventing that. And he showed them that both worlds were connected once. That could only mean... He needed them to understand something. Yes, as he said. But what was that? And... He needed all of them alive.

Her head started to feel like a jackhammer was hitting her. He needed them for some task, so much was clear to her. But why? And why were Remnant and Earth connected? Why did the Gravemind know about that? And why did he take the form of Ozpin? How did he know about her Headmaster?

"Hello! I am 2401 Penitent Tangent. I am the Monitor of Installation 05!" A familiar, annoying voice said, ripping her out of her thoughts. She wasn't sure if she missed a conversation, thinking about what happened.

But, what she knew was that in front of her was a shape she didn't want to see. A tiny, grey-silver ball with a lightbulb as an eye. A red one, this time. Figured this ring had a Monitor. But it was captured, fused to a tentacle of the Gravemind.

"And I am the Prophet of Regret, Counselor most High... Hierarch of the Covenant!" A second, even more, annoying voice, added.

The Prophet she fought just a few hours ago was in front of her. But by now, he had become part of the flood, fused with the tentacle, and resurrected by the collective. The mere thought of it made her feel sorry for him. This was a fate she didn't wish anyone.

"So many Reclaimers!" The Monitor cheered. "We must activate this facility at once if we are to control this outbreak!"

"Stay where you are!" Regret interrupted. "Nothing can be done until my Sermon is complete!"

"Good luck with that..." Ruby muttered to herself and glanced at the Arbiter. He was staring at Regret. He was a different species, but she noticed his eyes darting everywhere. She had no doubt that he felt his entire world crumble before him.

"Not true. This installation has a successful utilization record of 1.2 trillion simulated and one actual. It is ready to fire on demand."

"A successful?" Ruby thought to herself. "Right, Guilty Spark mentioned that."

Regret turned towards the Arbiter. "Of all the objects our Lords left behind, there are none so worthless as these Oracles! They know nothing about the Great Journey." Ruby had to agree with the first part. Monitors weren't something she was too fond of.

"And you know nothing about containment! You have demonstrated a complete disregard for even the most basic protocols!" That was also true.

"This one's containment..." The Gravemind shivered in disgust while lowering Tangent back into the mass below. "And this one's 'Great Journey'... Are the same." He lowered Regret back down, and the Prophet let out one last cry of help.

"Your Prophets have promised you freedom from a doomed existence, but you will find no salvation on this ring. Those who built this place knew what they wrought. Do not mistake their intent, or all will perish as they did before."

"He's right, Arbiter," Jaune added. "Halo is a weapon that, if activated, would wipe out every living being in the galaxy. The Forerunners didn't use it to ascend, but to wipe out the Flood."

Ruby waited for a retort, but none came. The Arbiter lowered his head in though, and simply stayed silent.

"And now they got the Index." Jaune continued. "They'll activate Halo... And everything will end."

Ruby's eyes went large. They had the Index? That's bad. She started to struggle and was about to use her Semblance to escape. Maybe she could get away, and stop the Covenant.

"There is still time to stop the key from turning, but first it must be found." The Gravemind interrupted, gaining everyone's attention. He lifted up Jaune and the Arbiter. "You will search one likely spot,..." He lifted up Ruby and the Chief. "...and you will search another. Fate had us meet as foes, but this ring will make us... brothers."

Golden rings appeared around them, and in one second, everything around Ruby disappeared. It was the same feeling as when Spark teleported them around the ring.

* * *

 **Sol-System, Planet Remnant**

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Unknown Date**

A lone Knight wandered the remains of a once glorious kingdom. The entire forest had been uprooted in one swift move, leaving nothing but rubble and destruction. But... The Knight survived.

Through some miracle, the mage had intervened and created a barrier around him and the two survivors. He was on his way to meet them, returning from a search for survivors.

It wasn't his first. He went out a few dozen times and found maybe two, three hundred people who were still alive. Most of them soldiers. Only a handful of civilians had survived.

Overall, it was a catastrophe. The plan had failed, Salem had destroyed Camelot, and the King was dead.

It's easily the worst possible outcome. The Knight pondered his deeds while returning to the makeshift camp. He betrayed his father after falling for the trick of a witch. For a cheap one at that. In the end, this was his fault.

"Mordred." Bedivere greeted. He was the other Knight that survived. Kay had passed away from his wounds. "You didn't find anyone, right?"

"No..." Mordred replied, and followed him into the camp. The Mage was waiting in a tent, looking onto a map of Camelot before it was destroyed.

"No survivors," Bedivere said, taking the burden of bearing bad news off of Mordred's shoulders. After the fight with Salem, the two of them had become comrades in the following search for survivors and worked together to wipe out the remaining Grimm in the area.

"All right..." Merlin sighed. "We can stop with the searches. We won't find any more." He straightened his back and looked at Mordred. "This is it. This is all we have left."

"What about Salem?" Mordred asked.

"Salem is gone," Merlin replied. "She is not dead. She will never be. But... What happened with the gate... She does not possess barriers such as I do. She was under the full force of the shockwave. She's not dead, but I have no doubts that even she was wounded."

"So she's out of the picture for now, huh?" Mordred asked. "How long will she stay hidden?"

"I can't say for sure, but I'd guess for a long amount of time."

"So... What now?" Bedivere asked.

"I would like to ask that myself," Merlin replied, and walked over to Mordred. "Sir Mordred Pendragon. Tell me, what is it we should do now?"

"I? Why should I say what-"

"You're Arthur's son," Merlin replied. "You're the heir to the throne. Camelot has not been destroyed. As long as it's people are alive, it is alive."

A small smile came upon Mordred's face, even though no one could see it behind his helmet. "You... You're right. Salem won't bother us for now. We can rebuild."

"Do you want to rebuilt?"

"Yes. Not here, of course. A bit more to the north, between the mountains and rivers. That is where Camelot shall be rebuilt. We can include the existing farmland and villages."

"All right." Merlin pulls a sword from his belt. "As the courtmage of Camelot, and trusted advisor of Arthur and Uther Pendragon, I hereby declare you, Mordred Pendragon, as the new King of Camelot." He moves the sword to Mordred's shoulders and sheathes it again.

"No..." Mordred said while standing up. "It isn't Camelot. I always wanted to be the King of Camelot. But... After everything that happened, it doesn't feel right to take the throne. You said Camelot is still alive, but that is not necessarily true. Camelot has died with Arthur Pendragon."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that the new kingdom is not Camelot. It is the successor, its heir, if you will. And its name shall be..."

"It shall be?" Bedivere asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm thinking. I got it. The Kingdom ruled over by Mordred Pendragon. The heir to King Arthur and Camelot... Shall hereby be named... Vale!"

* * *

 **And here is Chapter 28.**

 **Well, definitely the longest Chapter yet. And a different one at that. This is one I was excited about writing all the way back when I thought about how both worlds could be connected. I'm a fan of Arthurian myth, so it seemed like a good choice, and fits pretty well with RWBY's theme of legends and myths.**

 **Also, I don't think I have to say who Merlin actually is.**

 **Anyways, now to replies:**

 **Tronmaster5704: Thanks. It took a little bit to release this one, but that's mostly thanks to the wordcount, background checks of sources and the size of the Chapter getting a bit out of hand.**

 **djmegamouth: Yeah, a normal Elite doesn't stand much of a chance against Pyrrha, but experienced ones have been shown to be good enough to block bullets with their swords.**

 **Animeak116: Thanks. Well, here's the rest of the conversation.**

 **Steelrain66: Well, you're gonna see next Chapter.**

 **archive4465: Honestly, all of them are great, but I had to settle on one.**

 **ChronoHyperion: Thanks for sharing that idea. I'll look into it.**

 **Yes, I know Mona Lisa. (Definitely have to rewatch that though).**

 **I haven't seen that Trailer yet, but I'll look into it.**

 **Roboman: Thanks.**

 **PhoenixClaw2128: Well, here you go.**

 **kpmh2001: Thanks. I hope I'll be able to release the a bit quicker in the future.**

 **seraphimnight: Thanks.**

 **red october700: Well, here's the reveal. Little fun fact: I always listen to music while writing, and the one I put on while writing the fight was 'The Battle is to the Strong' from the Fate/Zero OST. And yes, the Writer's block was hell.**

 **Mecharic: While she won't have it the way you described, Salem is going to have an 'Oh shit what have I done' moment. Though interesting to see someone who hasn't played Halo reading this. Hope you have fun.**

 **SpaceAlchemy7: Thanks. Yes, there are plans for the Banished.**

 **ptl: Thanks.**

 **Azaira: Thanks for the criticism. I'll try to change that in the future.**

 **CliffySilver66: Yes, yes it is.**

 **True, but the Grimm aren't regular biomass, and don't have much of a neural system. They can be infected, but the Flood would only be able to do that at a later stage. (Conviniently the one they are at on Installation 05)**

 ** ** **Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft; RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth******


End file.
